Bloody Thorns
by Krizsta
Summary: An irreplaceable weapon. That was all Thorn ever was to her bandit group. It was a harsh life, sure, but it was the only life she knew. At least, that was until she met Evin Larse… *COMPLETED*
1. The Captives

****

The Captives

It was his way of showing off. Of hurting her.

"I said, tie him up with some vine!" Torhte snapped at her with impatience.

Instead of using rope, as was the usual tradition, Torhte liked to use vine to tie up hostages. Sure, it showed that he was cheap, but it was more his way of flaunting her vulnerability and helplessness. In other words, he was basically saying, 'I could order you to do anything I want, and you can't defy me.'

And of course, he was right.

Thorn reached into her pocket for one of her seeds. Finding the appropriate one, she slowly knelt toward the rich soil of the forest and dug a small hole in which she could place her seed. Of course, she could have just dropped the seed and let it settle into the soil by itself, but it was slower this way. And Torhte was a very impatient man. Yes, she had to follow his orders, but the way in which she followed them was her own.

From a couple feet away, Thorn heard Torhte growl, no doubt because of her sluggishness. The rest of the bandits fidgeted restlessly in response. She felt Druce tense at his place behind her back. Lathan, who stood beside her knelt from, did not visibly show his anxiety if he had any, after all, that was a sign of an amateur, and Lathan was anything but that. However, he did have his sword out by his side. 

Thorn turned away from the outside distractions and focused her attention on her newly planted seed. ::Will you grow for me? Will you grow for me, little one?:: she mentally asked the seed.

As she watched the soil for any stirring, she felt the seed comply. 

From within the brown dirt, a green sprout appeared. It continued to grow, reaching upward toward her. She stood up but offered it a hand, and the vine continued to grow. The vine circled her wrist and continued to grow, circling the whole of her arm. With her free hand, she pulled a knife from her belt and after a quiet apology to the plant, carefully measured and cut the vine into five even pieces. The rest of the plant reluctantly pulled away from her and slid across the ground to the nearest tree, and wrapped itself around the tree trunk. 

There was an utter silence around her as the bandits watched the vine slide away from her like a snake. Several jumped out of its way, as it they were afraid the vine would somehow entwine and then attack them. 

Several of the men who had jumped out of the vine's way turned to glare at her after they heard her give a derisive snort. But Lathan's glare in response to theirs was more frightening; they stayed their hands from their swords.

She stepped up to the first of the three hostages. He was the only one uninjured. During the fight with the Rider group, four of the Riders had died, and two had been seriously injured. While the others had retreated and escaped, this one had stayed behind as an effort to help the injured two. A worthless effort, since all three were captured.

She approached him warily, Druce and Lathan remaining with her at her sides as her guards. Even in the dark she was able to see the blue eyes that watched her suspiciously as she untangled one of the five strips of vine entwined around her left wrist. 

"Turn around." Torhte said to the prisoner. "Put your hands together behind your back."

The prisoner complied after a moment's hesitation. Once his hands were behind his back, she laid the untangled vine across his wrists.

The man released a gasp as he felt the vine moving without any human help around his wrist. The vine stopped moving only after it tied itself firmly around the man's wrists and knotted itself. 

"What do you plan to do with us?" The man spoke for the first time since the end of the battle. 

Since she was turning to the second hostage, a man who lay unconscious, she did not see Torhte shrug. 

"I will do whatever I please."

Thorn gave another derisive snort. 

Torhte turned to give her an ugly stare. "Hurry up and bind the others before I lose my patience."

She ignored the underlying anger in his voice and retorted, "You can't lose something you never had in the first place."

It was a good thing that he was still several feet away from her. Else, he would slapped her. Druce and Lathan stood immobile beside her. They were only allowed to protect her from everyone and everything except Torhte. Torhte had assigned them to protect her from other bandits and enemies during attacks. But if they tried to protect her from Torhte, there was no telling what he would do in his rage. 

Lathan put a steely arm around her elbow and guided her toward the unconscious hostage. She shrugged him off but did not turn away. She untangled two pieces of vine from around her wrist and placed one on top of the prisoner's wrists that Lathan held together. Then she put the second around the man's ankles which Druce held for her. As she straightened she silently asked the vines to tie themselves tightly together. After she was done, she turned to do the same to the second prisoner, a woman who was wide awake and staring up at Thorn with an expression akin to awe. And fear. Thorn asked her vines to be more careful with this hostage; the woman had a deep cut in her thigh which kept her from walking or even getting up. Since her hands were now free, Lathan returned her wooden staff to her.

After she was finished, the two injured prisoners were placed on to horses in front of another bandit. They lay on their stomachs, wrists and ankles tied together. Thorn knew from experience that the position was uncomfortable. 

After the female prisoner was placed on a horse, the bandit who was seated behind her on the same horse smiled a toothy smile and let a fat hand settle on the woman's behind. The woman had cloth shoved into her mouth earlier and as a result, couldn't speak, but Thorn knew a cry of outrage when she heard one.

Thorn's staff was up and moving before she realized it. She swung her staff so that it struck him straight across the chest and it hit with such force that he was pushed off the horse and landed flat on his back. His head landed right next to a squat bush, and the bush, feeling some of Thorn's dark anger, shook its leaves at him crossly.

The man positively shrieked as the bush loomed threateningly above him, and he struggled to his feet. Men nearby burst into malicious laughter as they watched the bandit try to regain his dignity. However, the laughter settled when the men heard Thorn speak.

"Do not touch her again." she said as she struggled to calm herself and the irritated bush. The bush was annoyed not only because the man had angered Thorn, but because he had fallen and disturbed its rest, putting his head where it did not belong.

Thorn apologized silently to the bush, telling it that it was her fault that he had fallen and disturbed it. The bush accepted her apology and then settled down once more into its rest.

Thorn turned to settle her own anger then, which was considerably harder. She knew what it was like, receiving a man's unwanted touch. She had spent seven years of her life with the band of outlaws. During that time, many of the men had tried to force their unwanted company upon her. Fortunately, she learned to protect herself and the bandits learned to fear her anger. But seeing this bandit's hand exploring the hostage's behind had brought all the memories back. 

Thorn's attention was drawn back to the bandit with the injured pride at the hissing sound of a blade getting drawn. He started toward her menacingly, but Lathan quickly stepped forward and pushed her behind him. Druce also drew his sword.

"Move out of the way, Lathan."

Lathan's tight grip around her arm kept her from moving away from him. Lathan turned his steely gaze to the bandit. "You are not going to hurt --"

"This isn't between us, Lathan." The other interrupted. "It's between me and --"

"Shut your trap!" Torhte's snapped hotly as he pushed himself into the fray. "What do you think you're doing, you dolt! What kind of ransom do you they will give us for damaged property?" Torhte looked like he wanted to smack the bandit with a staff himself. "And you." Torhte turned his gaze onto her. Lathan relaxed his grip on her arm. "Get onto your horse and stay there."

As she turned to do so, Torhte rearranged the seating arrangements. As a different bandit got up on the horse behind the female hostage, Torhte slid his sword out of his sheathe and held it against the bandit's throat. 

"If you lay a hand on her, I will personally slit your throat. Is that perfectly clear?" 

The bandit's eyes widened and he quickly nodded a confirmation.

The last prisoner was pushed onto another horse. He landed roughly on the horse's back with a grunt. Torhte stalked up to him and grabbed his head by the hair, forcing the man's gaze to meet his. 

"I will ride on this horse behind you. If you try anything funny, your two companions will die." He words were short and had a tone of finality behind them.

For a moment, she felt a kinship with the Rider. Just as the Rider's companions were being used against him, Thorn's own sister was used against her to guarantee her obedience. 

Then Torhte climbed onto the horse behind the Rider and motioned deeper into the dark forest. "Let's ride."


	2. The Rider

****

The Rider

It was an hour or so past midnight. She waited inside her tent, listening to the silence around her. When she was sure that she would be able to sneak out of her tent unseen, she lifted her tent flap and silently stepped out of her tent, her staff in hand.

"Where do you think you are going." 

Thorn froze as she heard Lathan's hushed voice. She searched the darkness until she saw his form.

"I was just getting a breath of fresh air." She whispered back.

He stepped toward her until he stood right beside her. "You are not allowed out of your tent alone."

"I was only planning to be out here for a moment." She said.

There was a short silence.

"You were about to go visit the uninjured Rider, weren't you." His question wasn't exactly a question.

She straightened. "Not really. I was only going to check on him. Torhte told me to check on the hostages --"

"He was talking about the injured ones, and you know it." 

"Please, Lathan."

He stared down at her expressionlessly.

She sighed.

"The only reason you want to do this," Lathan said steadily to her, "is because you know Torhte will be annoyed once he finds out."

Once he found out. Not if. It amazed her sometimes, how well Lathan knew her. Lathan knew that she wanted Torhte to know that she was disobeying his orders. 

She sighed. "Lathan, it's not because I want you to get into trouble --" for if Torhte found out that she was wandering around in the dark alone, both Druce and Lathan would be punished.

He shook a dismissive hand at her. "I know that. And that's not why I think you shouldn't do this." His voice was still hushed, but from its tone she could tell he was becoming angry.  
She shook her head. "Asianna will not be hurt for something like this."

"Dammit, Thorn. Your sister isn't the person I'm concerned about!"

Her eyes widened as his voice got louder. "Hush, Lathan, else you'll wake the rest of the camp." She glanced around cautiously. "Lathan, don't waste your worry on me. I can handle Torhte. I have been for the past seven years." she said with a pointed look. "Please, Lathan, let me do this."

Lathan shook his head at her. "Why do you have to do this? You aren't doing this for the sake of the Rider, you're doing it for the purpose of annoying Torhte. But where will that get you? Why do you seek to provoke him at every turn and risk yourself when you could just settle down and accept things as they are? It would save you a lot of pain. Have you forgotten what he did the last time you stepped too far and angered him?"

Forget? How could she? During a raid a couple months back, Torhte had wanted her to kill several of the surviving villagers with her gift. She had refused, and her refusal had pushed him into a black rage during which he had broken her arm in two places. Her open refusal had undermined him in his power not only in front of the rest of the bandits, but in front of the surviving villagers, the enemy. 

The grip she had around her staff tightened. "I refuse to cower in front of Torhte and be his slave."

Lathan lowered his head so that there was no way in which she could escape his gaze. "Thorn, it isn't about being a coward and a slave. It's about survival."

She pushed him away. "So what if it is?" she cried out a little too loudly. "I still refuse to survive by being his slave. Lathan, please. Provoking Torhte, angering him, it's a way in which I can have control. It's a way in which I could remember that I'm more than a simple slave. Sure, it's the harder way," she admitted, "but I'd rather suffer and go through this than lose myself to Torhte."

Thorn blinked, realizing that sometime during her words, she had grabbed Lathan by the arm. At that moment, she realized how much it meant for her that Lathan understood her and her actions. Of all the bandits, it was Lathan whom she was the closest to. He had been more a father to her than her real father had ever been. "Lathan, please." she said again, her voice calmer and quieter this time.

Lathan stared down at her, an inner struggle working itself out behind his eyes. She held her breath as she waited for his response.

Lathan shook his head and for a moment Thorn felt a bitter disappointment. But then he spoke, "If at any time, your actions push Torhte far enough that he kills you, I will never forgive you."

Her eyes widened as she realized that he had given her his consent. She wasn't sure which she was more happier about: the fact that he was allowing her her foolishness or that he understood her.

~~~~~~~~~~

She stood a good distance away from his open tent, but still had a view of him. Her purpose was to annoy Torhte, not strike up a conversation with the Rider. 

The rider sat in front of the stake he was tied to. The other Riders were in their own tents and at different ends of the camp. After the bandits had made camp and settled down, Torhte had told her to bind his ankles, and so, both his wrists and his ankles were bound up with vine. The front of his tent was flung wide open, but the darkness of the inside of the tent obscured most people's view of the captive. Even her view was dimmed by shadows. 

Quietly, as to not alert any of the camp's sentries, she stalked toward the Rider's tent, one hand reaching into one of the six pockets of her cloak. She knelt into the Rider's tent and scattered a handful of seeds that produced edible food. They usually led to mushrooms. Bushes for berries and the like took more energy to grow, but occasionally she had some seeds for strawberries with her. Now was not one of those times. If the Rider was a picky eater, than he'd just have to starve, since the bandits hadn't fed him since they captured him and probably wouldn't until later the next day. Sure, Torhte had said that he did not want the captives abused, but it didn't mean that he planned to look meticulously over them either. 

Mentally, she asked the vine that bound the Rider's wrists together to untie itself and then settle itself around one of his wrists. It would go right back around both his wrists right after he was finished eating. 

Then she turned to the seeds that she had just dropped. ::Grow.:: She said silently. ::Will you please grow for me?::

Although mushrooms, being Fungi, are usually irritatingly stubborn, the seeds quickly settled themselves into the ground and grew. She smiled her thanks.

It was then she realized that the Rider still hadn't moved. He hadn't moved a bit since the moment she had studied him and his tent outside. She knew that he was awake. The pieces of vines that bound him told her so.

Curiosity made her hesitate for a moment, but then she spoke. "I know that you are not sleeping. So take my gift and make good use of it." She used her staff to motion to the pile of mushrooms that had just been grown, just in case he had not noticed it because of the darkness. "My vine will tie your wrists back up after you are finished." she whispered.

The Rider slowly raised his head as if to look at her, but the shadows obscured most of her body and all of her face, as they did to his.

She watched silently, not planning to say anything more or to even move from her spot until he was tied up again.

"Thank you." He said to her quietly. He lifted his arms from around the stake and stretched before reaching for a mushroom.

He must have been starving, he ate all the mushrooms she grew for him. She had to reach into her pocket and grow some more.

He tried to speak to her a couple times while he ate. She just ignored him and pretended to not hear him speak to her. She split her attention between the captive and the outside of the tent, to make sure none of the bandits would come near.

After awhile, he settled back. "I'm finished." He glanced up at her but did not move to put his wrists together.

He let out a hiss of air as he felt the vine around his ankles tighten almost painfully.

"Wait, before you tie my wrists together I would like to ask a question." He quickly whispered.

She just waited silently. 

"How are my companions faring?" He asked.

She felt a renewed kinship with him at his question. He cared for the well-being of his friends. As she did with her sister.

She hesitated a moment before she spoke. "I have personally looked after them."

He paused, digesting the fact that what she said did not definitely mean that they were all right. There were several ways one could understand what she said. 

But instead of asking her another question as she had suspected, he just leaned back against his stake and rearranged his wrists behind his back, letting her vine bind him again.

As she leaned over him to check her vine, she heard him speak. 

"Well, I'm just going to have to trust you on that, aren't I."


	3. The Bluest Gaze

****

The Bluest Gaze

"Thorn!"

Thorn sat up from her straw mattress where she had been waiting and quickly slipped outside her tent. 

"You better wipe that smirk off your face unless you want this to be a truly violent experience." Lathan said to her quietly so that Druce would not be able to hear. 

Thorn's smile grew a tidbit wider. 

Both Druce and Lathan stood beside her as she headed toward the direction of Torhte's shout. She had been waiting for it all morning. She leisurely brushed a loose strand of light brown hair away from her face as she walked. In her other hand was her wooden staff. She casually studied her staff as Druce fidgeted nervously and Lathan frowned at her. 

Thorn loved her staff, and Thorn almost believed that it loved her in return. The wood of the staff was a healthy brown color and it was strong and firm in her grasp. What made her staff different from other staffs, however, was what was around her staff. For a long stem of a rose bush circled the staff, from top to bottom. The design reminded her of a red and white peppermint candy stick that she had seen in a village once during a holiday. The red stripe had circled the white stick in the exact way her rose bush stem circled the wood of her staff. Even stranger was the fact that even though the rose stem did indeed have thorns, it had never pricked her. Not even once.

"Thorn, what exactly is this." Torhte stood in front of the Rider whom she had visited last night and his tent. Or at least, where his tent should have been. Instead, someone had dismantled his tent and it lay limp next to the Rider. And in front of the Rider were several mushrooms. Mushrooms that had definitely not been there when the Rider had first been placed in his tent.

"I do believe that those are things known as mushrooms, Torhte. Perhaps you've spent too much time in the woods, not to know such a simple thing like that--"

"Shut up! What in all hells are they doing here?" Torhte glared at her, and if his hostility had been tangible, it would have probably clawed out her eyes.

Thorn shrugged. She felt the Rider watching her carefully, and she knew that he was wondering who she was. Torhte always required that she wear a hood to cover her face when they were out in a raid and dealing with enemies, so when they had first met, she had been wearing her hood. And last night, it had been too dark to see her face. She kept her voice steady and casual as she spoke to Torhte. "Well, they grew there."

Torhte simmered with anger. "And WHO grew them there."

"Who do you think?" She asked in a tone that was almost taunting. "I did, of course."

Torhte darted forward in a movement so quick that she barely saw him move. But she did feel the back of his hand fall across her face in a painful slap. 

Thorn stumbled and staggered to the ground under the power of the slap. She paused a moment to catch her breath, and then folded her legs beneath her and placed the hand that held the staff on top of her knees in front of her; the other hand joined the first hand by placing itself on top. She bent her head forward and let her hair fall like a curtain around her face. The very picture of a submissive servant. Except for the staff which lay horizontally in front of her, tightly held in her grip.

"Just as I had looked after the injured ones with my poultices and my herbs, I looked after the uninjured one's hunger. You told me to look after the prisoners, did you not?" She asked levelly, knowing very well the answer to her question.

"Not this one, Thorn. I did not want this one looked after, and you know it." Some of Torhte's anger had dissipated with his slap, but his dark tone told her that he was still left with plenty of it.

"My mistake." She murmured, head still tilted forward so that none could see her face. She suddenly realized that there was a taste of blood in her mouth. She had bitten her tongue when Torhte had slapped her.

"You planted mushrooms for him to eat, but how did he eat them? Did you finger feed him yourself?" He asked scornfully.

She made no reply. Or movement.

"No, I don't think that our Thorn is the type. Our Thorn isn't the type to get so close to a stranger. Our Thorn is the type to let him feed himself." He continuously emphasized the words 'our Thorn'. He was flaunting his power over her. Again. "Is that what you did? You untied him, didn't you?" He was becoming angrier by the moment. "Didn't you." By this time, his words had dropped dangerously.

Before she could answer, another voice spoke.

"It is not she who is at fault. I figured out that she had come to me without permission. I threatened her, saying that if she did not untie me for awhile and let me eat and relax, I would alert the rest of the camp. I forced her do it."

Thorn's head jerked upward as she blinked in surprise. She gazed at the Rider in astonishment, and he stared right back at her with his bright blue eyes. Then her gaze turned into a glare. She didn't need anyone to protect or defend her. Especially not this strange Rider.

She pointedly turned her gaze to Torhte. "That isn't true. I chose to do what I did. Nobody forces me to do anything." She immediately regretted her last sentence. She had just given Torhte another opportunity to show off his power. And he, being an opportunist, didn't pass up on the chance. 

"Nobody, Thorn?" Torhte's tone had changed from angry to sly. "Are you sure about that? Perhaps its been too long since I last forced you to do something. Maybe I should --"

Her anger sparked. "You are a different case, Torhte." She coldly interrupted. "Instead of challenging me, face to face, one on one, you cower behind Asianna. You know that you aren't man enough to hurt me, and as a result, you threaten to hurt her. You are too cowardly to face me without her."

All of Torhte's anger was back and more. "Why you insolent little --"

Torhte's hand flashed toward her again. More as a reflex than a desire to protect herself, she quickly raised her staff in a block. 

Torhte suddenly released a curse and stepped back. He raised his hand and she saw that his palm was quickly becoming soaked with blood. She quickly glanced at her staff and saw that four of the thorns on her staff were also covered in blood. Her staff had…pricked Torhte's hand.

She felt Druce take a step back away from her. Lathan glanced down at her, a quiet scowl apparent on his face. 

Thorn stared at the four bloody thorns on her staff. With an amazingly steady hand, she reached toward the thorns. She let her hand fall over them and gripped her staff hard, completely covering the thorns in her hand. And she felt no pain. No piercings of the skin. With a slightly less steady hand, she pulled her hand away. The thorns that had pricked Torhte's hand were still there. But the blood was not. 

There were resounding gasps from everywhere around her. They all knew that Thorn was able to handle her thorn covered staff without hurting herself, but knowing it and actually seeing it were completely different things.

Then, the rose stem around her staff suddenly stirred. Thorn felt a quiver of power, and then she realized there was movement from the top of her staff. She bent the top of it down toward her and watched as a bud suddenly appeared. Then the bud started to enlarge and blossom. In just moments, Thorn found herself staring down at a fully blossomed red rose. The rose leaned toward her, as if the staff itself was offering a gift. When she didn't respond, it shook itself slightly at her. When she reached up toward it, it simply fell into the palm of her hand without her needing to cut it off first. 

::A gift.:: her staff said to her.

Thorn blinked in surprise. Her staff had actually spoken. Plants usually didn't think with human words. Sure, she understood plants and plants seemed to understand her when she spoke to them, but they just didn't think like humans do. They think with something more akin to emotion than words. And yet her staff had spoken. And she hadn't even initiated the…conversation. 

::Thank you.:: she said back a bit uncertainly. 

Her rose stem settled itself back around her staff in reply.

She slowly settled back into her submissive posture again, one hand wrapped tightly around her staff and the other gently curled around a fresh rose's stem. She quietly waiting for Torhte to speak. She felt herself tremble at the thought that she had gone too far. What if he decided to hurt Asianna for this? Thorn had never bloodied him before. 

"I will go assemble a poultice for your hand." She finally said quietly.

Torhte laughed a humorless laugh. She knew that he knew what was on her mind. He knew how much Asianna meant to her. How afraid she was that he would hurt her. At the moment, he had complete control over her, and he knew it. How she hated him. Her offering to assemble a poultice was as much as an apology or peace offering that he was ever going to get. 

"Yes, you go do that." Torhte said to her coldly.

Thorn kept her shoulders from sagging and visibly showing her relief. So he wasn't going to hurt Asianna. Or at least not yet. 

Thorn slowly got to her feet and turned toward the direction of her tent. Lathan and Druce followed somewhat behind. As she left the group of assembled men, she was careful to meet no one's gaze. Especially not a blue eyed one. 


	4. The Watchful

****

The Watchful

Thorn watched quietly as one of the three mages who were also bandits dismantled his protective circle. The scenery shimmered in front of her, and then a circle of land with a moderately sized tent (it was bigger than hers, at least) appeared. The mage's circles were good: nobody could see or hear what went on within. She quickly brushed past the mage and threw back the flap of the tent to enter.

"Asianna?"

Asianna lay on her bedding, squinting up at the light that Thorn had just revealed by opening the flap of the tent.

"Egads, is it morning already?" Asianna asked with a sigh.

Thorn smiled. "Late morning actually."

"I hope you don't mind, but I think I'll just continue laying were I am. It's awfully comfortable and relaxing. You should try sleeping in late too, Thorn."

Thorn shrugged, disappointed and yet not willing to show it. During the first couple months of their forced attendance with the bandits, Asianna had always been ecstatically happy whenever Thorn had visited her. She had been dreadfully afraid of the bandits and nearly cried every time one came near her. But as years passed, her ecstatic joy had dwindled down into a ritual hug as a greeting at the beginning of every one of Thorn's visits. Just recently, perhaps a month or two ago, even those hugs had stopped. 

Thorn pulled up a stool next to where her sister was lying. "Have you had breakfast?"

Asianna fluttered a hand in the air. "I'll have one later."

"But later, it won't be breakfast, it'll be lunch." Thorn said lightly.

Asianna shrugged. "Then I'll have lunch then."

Thorn stared down at Asianna uncertainly. She noticed how shiny her curly chestnut hair was. She wondered why she had never noted it before. It was so different from her own. Her eyes were a warm brown color, and her full, plump cheeks had a naturally pleasing color and look to them. Pretty. Why had she never realized that her younger sister was pretty?

"You know, Asianna, I've never really noticed it before, but you are wonderfully beautiful."

Asianna's face softened. "Thank you for the compliment, Thorn. You are also very beautiful."

Thorn laughed. "Yes, as beautiful as my horse's behind."

Asianna laughed and shook her head indulgently at her. "I heard a great racket earlier this morning. Have you done something to upset Torhte again?"

Thorn shrugged. "Nothing more than usual."

Asianna shook her head seriously this time. "You shouldn't do that, Thorn. Sometimes you make him so angry that it frightens me. What if he were to hurt you? What if he kills you? Will you leave me here alone with the bandits?"

"Torhte won't kill me. I'm to valuable to him." Thorn said bitterly.

An awkward silence followed her statement and Thorn struggled to say something.

"I brought you something." She finally said, reaching into a cloak pocket. She pulled out the perfect red rose that her staff had given to her earlier. "Here."

Asianna smiled. "Thank you.. It's very beautiful." Asianna reached for the rose and carefully took it from Thorn, wary of the thorns. 

"It's time." a voice said by the entrance of the tent.

Thorn stood. "Well, then, Asianna. I'll see you next week."

Asianna nodded and settled more deeply into her pallet. "Yes, and thank you for the beautiful flower."

Thorn nodded back and exited the tent. She didn't stay behind to watch the mage replace his protective circle. Before she returned to her own tent, she had to check up on the hostages. The male Rider who had been unconscious the day before was wide awake and instantly suspicious of her. Lathan glowered at the Rider and Druce hung back, believing that the bound Rider wasn't dangerous. 

But of course he was wrong.

Thorn stopped a few feet in front of the Rider and glanced at him, considering. The Rider sat in front of his stake wearing breeches and boots. His bloody shirt had been taken off so that she could treat and bandage his side.

"The wound in your side must be worse than I thought, for you not to be able to take the chance to escape when you have gotten yourself out of my binding vines." she said quietly.

The hostage gazed up at her, eyes widening, body frozen in surprise. Lathan's sword was out in a second and hovering threateningly in front of the Rider. 

Thorn strode over to inspect the ground behind the captive and his stake. Her pieces of vine lay broken and charred. She knelt to pick up one of the blackened pieces. The Rider must have used his Gift to burn off her vine.

"Poor thing." She murmured to the vine. Most plants were horribly frightened of fire. Understandably. 

She felt a surge of anger toward the Rider. She strode back in front of him and gave him a hard look. "I suggest that you be less blatant with your Gift. You would anger Torhte if he were to find out and you have already angered me." She still held the charred piece of vine between her fingers. 

"And who is this Torhte?" The Rider bit out. Because he had been unconscious, he had been lucky enough not to meet Torhte yet.

"He is the man who will hurt your companions if he were to find out that you were trying to escape." she snapped back. She turned to Lathan. "We will need rope for him. I refuse to use vine." 

Lathan nodded and turned to give Druce a pointed look.

Druce blinked, taking in Lathan's look, and then sighed. He left the tent and then came back a few moments later with some rope. 

Lathan took the rope and tied it securely around the Rider's wrists and ankles. Thorn saw the Rider wince when he accidentally tried to move his injured body. 

After he was done, Thorn knelt down beside the Rider and carefully retreated his side after taking off his bandages. When she had finished placing the last herb and settled the new bandage around his wound, she stepped back to study her handiwork. 

"Where did you learn to do that?" the Rider asked curiously. He was visibly looking better and more relaxed than he had when she had first entered his tent. 

She glanced back at him before she ducked out of his tent. "I didn't." And it was the truth. She hadn't been taught the art of healing with plants. She was merely told. The plants told her what sorts of things they were good for, how to use them most effectively to treat an ailment. 

When she entered the female Rider's tent, the woman actually smiled. "Well, it's finally great to see another female face." she said. "I was starting to expect that the only bandits at the encampment were smelly, disgusting males."

"They are." Thorn said in reply. 

The woman frowned. "But you're a woman." Then she stopped to think. "Are you not also a bandit?"

Thorn chose not to reply, but no, she didn't think of herself as a bandit. She thought of herself more as a hostage who was forced to do bandit-like things. At least, that's what she told herself when she was feeling guilty. Some of the things that Torhte wanted her to do made her sick afterwards, but she was willing to do anything to keep her sister from coming to harm. After all, isn't that what an older sibling is supposed to do? Keep the younger sibling from harm?

Thorn made efficient work, quickly checking the woman's leg injury, which was healing to her satisfaction. She wanted to return to her tent to be by herself as soon as possible.

She was in such a hurry to leave the tent that she did not hear the woman shout a thank you after her. 

She had to hurry past the blue-eyed Rider and his tent on her way to her own. But what she saw in front of it made her stop dead in her tracks. In front of the Rider's tent, instead of whole, healthy mushrooms, dirty, hacked up little white pieces lay scattered everywhere.

She didn't see the Rider studying her carefully. She didn't see Druce giving her strange looks. 

She knelt to touch the ground for a moment, fingering a piece of mushroom. "Did Torhte do this?" she murmured quietly to herself.

"What are you doing?" Druce finally asked her exasperatedly. "What, are you mourning over mushrooms? By the gods, Thorn, they are only mushrooms! Can't you just hurry up and get back to your tent and stop wasting my time?"

She whirled on the bandit so fast that her staff's movement made an audible swish as it moved through the air. Lathan's hand on her arm kept her from acting with violence. 

"Thorn." Lathan said warily.

Thorn took the moment to contain herself, but found her stare slowly moving from Druce to Lathan. "What? Didn't you hear what he said?"

"Thorn." Lathan said warningly.

Her mouth slowly dropped open. Realization hit her like a brick. "You agree with him, don't you." She waited, but he didn't speak. "You agree with him." she said again. "You think that I'm wasting your time? Acting like a fool?"

"Look, Thorn, I could understand your want to provoke Torhte. It's a technique you use from losing yourself. But this? This grieving over plants? That I can't understand."

She stared at him, knowing that he could see that she was hurt, and hating it. How could he seem to understand her so well at one moment and then not at all in another? During her years with the bandits, she'd had nobody. Sure, she had Asianna to talk to, but how could she talk to her about her worries and fears? She couldn't turn to Asianna as a constant companion. And how could she turn to any of the bandits, who were keeping her with them as their prisoner? Even Lathan, close to him as she was, was more loyal to Torhte than to her. He might like Torhte less, but he held Torhte as his authority. If she were to do anything that would hurt the bandit group, he would turn her in, without a doubt. So who did she have to turn to? Who had been her companion? Her confidant? The plants. The plants didn't force her to kill and fight for them. They didn't keep her contained in a tent all day. The plants accepted her, offered her food and companionship. They were the only friends she had. And understandably, people grieved for their friends. 

She turned away from Lathan but found herself gazing at the Rider. Him again. Why was he always watching her? She tossed him a glare before turning away. 

"By all means, Druce, let's not waste anymore of your damn precious time." 


	5. The Ambush

****

The Ambush

The sun had fallen and the bandits had surrounded the small village the scout had discovered earlier that day. Thorn shifted uncomfortably on her horse and Lathan tossed her a look of disapproval which she completely ignored. It was hard to sit on the horse and hold her staff so that it didn't end up hurting the animal.

She waited with the other bandits in the group for the signal. 

The tree that she stood below offered her a late night greeting, which she returned. It suggested that she ask her staff to keep its thorns from hurting the horse so that she could sit and hold the reins properly. 

Thorn acknowledged the good advice and followed it. And to her surprise, the staff expressed an agreement to her request. She slowly lowered her staff so that it would light brush against the horse's back. And it did not pierce the horse's skin. Thorn sighed and relaxed, resettling herself more comfortably on the horse. She then thanked her staff and the tree.

The tree then expressed a curiosity as to what she was doing there, waiting underneath its leaves.

She sighed. ::You aren't going to like it, at all.:: she said. 

The tree expressed its curiosity again. 

::Well, it's --::

A hut within the village suddenly burst into flame, releasing a great roar of bursting fire and snapping wood. She felt the tree's fear at the sudden happening.

She sighed. ::Yes, exactly. It's fire.:: The signal.

Bandits quickly burst into the village and she was forced to follow, tossing a goodbye back toward the tree.

For a moment, everything was fine. Bandits were pulling swords and forcing down doors to get into homes and she was lost in the chaos of the roaring men, as she was at every raid. In a moment she was going to start scattering her seeds and growing destructive rose bushes which would help tear down huts and houses, adding to the chaos. 

And then, out of nowhere, someone blew on a deafening horn. Her horse wheeled about nervously, and Thorn was just barely able to keep from losing her seat. It was a good thing that she had made that agreement with her staff about not hurting the horse, elsewise she never would have been able to hang on. 

Sudden power filled the air and then there was a sudden _whoosh_, which was followed by utter darkness. The fire that had been set on a random hut as a beacon and signal to the rest of the bandits went out.

Thorn heard Lathan breathing heavily beside her. "Lathan…was that supposed to happen?" 

He turned to her. "Go."

She blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Go!" He pointed toward the sky. "Ride! Run!"

Then she saw them. Arrows. Falling from the sky as if they were rain.

"What is wrong with you, girl? Are you deaf? I said go!" Lathan slapped her horse on the rump and her horse went off on a run so fast that she nearly lost her seat again. 

"Damn, you're going to have to work on your riding if you want to make proper escapes." Lathan said as he rode beside her.

"You can say that again." She said as she gripped onto her reins as if her life depended on it. On second thought, her life _did _depend on it. "Where's Druce?" She asked.

"I don't know." He said. "Slow your horse down as we get into the woods again. You don't want your horse to trip." 

She nodded and complied. And after awhile, she was glad that she did, because there were a lot of things that were littered on the ground on this part of the forest. As she squinted down at one of the things that her horse jumped over, she realized what they were. Bodies. Of bandits.

"Ambush. Ambush." Lathan gasped. "Ride!"

There was a swish of something heading toward them, and then it seemed as if an arrow seemed to suddenly sprout from Lathan's back.

"Lathan!" She watched helplessly as he toppled to the ground.

She heard another swish of an arrow coming toward her. It was the only warning she had before it hit. 

Her horse reared from the pain that the arrow caused when the arrow pierced the horse's side. Thorn slid off of the horse's back and fell hard onto the dirt floor. Then her horse gave a last frightened whinny before collapsing to the ground. Thorn struggled to get out of the way, but one of her legs got caught underneath the bulk of the animal when it was still twisted sideways and she screamed as she felt her bone break. Her head fell back, toward the ground and hit a rock, which fortunately knocked her unconscious and unfeeling to the pain. 

~~~~

A.N.: I don't know why, but I just like this chapter. I mean, Thorn gets hurt (ouch, wouldn't want that happening to me), but there's something about this chapter…

Well, I just wanted to thank everyone who responded to my question during the last chapter, so: Thanks! Your reviews keep me typing rapidly away on my computer. J 

~Krizsta


	6. The Desperate

****

The Desperate

The first sign of something being amiss was the fact that she couldn't seem to locate her staff. She always slept with the staff within reaching distance. Still groping around for her staff, she opened her eyes.

And froze.

Two people who looked to be around her own age stared at her from chairs at the foot of her pallet. Or actually, bed. 

The female who had short black hair cut in a boy's style and wonderfully glittering green eyes, blinked at in her surprise. "You're awake?"

The young male who sat beside the female arched a brown eyebrow at the speaker. "Well, of course. She would have had to awake eventually." He said calmly. He had his feet propped up onto another chair across from him and turned to glance at Thorn. "Don't mind Miri. Even the most commonplace things like having people wake up from sleep seem to surprise her at times." His voice spoke with a friendliness to her that did not reach his eyes.

Miri made a face at the young man. "Shut up, Brecc." She turned to smile at Thorn. "Hello."

Thorn didn't reply.

Miri spoke again, not at all affected by Thorn's silence. "How is your leg?"

Thorn tensed and glanced at the strangers suspiciously. Her leg was fine. Not that she could move it much. Somebody had bandaged and splinted her leg to keep her from bending or moving it. Who were these people and who had splinted her leg?

"You'll have to use a cane to help you walk for awhile. Just a little bit. When your horse fell on top of you, you're bone snapped and broke through the skin of your leg. You'll have to be careful with it, just until it gets strong again." the girl went on.

Thorn gave her a strange look. Was she always this friendly to strangers? 

The young male stared at her appraisingly. "You don't talk too much, do you?" He asked, not really surprised when he didn't get a response. "Miri, Evin, and I spoke up for you while the healers pondered on what to do with you. If we hadn't spoken up, the healers would not have been so helpful with your wound."

Miri nodded and smiled. "Yep. But it's the least that we could do. After all, you helped Brecc and me with our own wounds. The healers examined my leg and told me that I might have lost it if you hadn't treated it like you did. And Brecc probably wouldn't have even survived if you hadn't stitched up his side to keep his innards from falling out and gave him herbs for the pain and to keep infection away."

Thorn blinked in surprise. Realization slowly dawned on her. These two, one who spoke welcomingly toward her and the other who glanced at her suspiciously, were the two injured captives whom she had treated. She hadn't recognized them with clean faces and clothes. But if they were here, alive and whole, then…

Thorn sat up so suddenly that the room spun around her. She closed her eyes until the dizzy feeling went away. Then she glanced at the female Rider. 

"Where am I."

The girl glanced at her uncertainly. "You're in a guest room at Pirate's Swoop."

_Oh no. _Thorn struggled to get herself out of the bed, but her leg got tangled in the covers. She finally just ripped the covers off the bed and dropped them on the floor next to the bed and started to push herself off the comfortable bed, but her leg got tangled in the long, full skirt that she was wearing. Definitely not her own. The healers must have taken off her breeches for her and replaced it with the more modest skirt. She worked to untangle her leg from the skirt.

Brecc stood, albeit slowly because of his wounded side. "What are you doing?"

Thorn shook her head desperately. "I have to go." Her poor sister. What if Torhte had already hurt her? 

"You can't." Miri protested. "You're hurt."

But Thorn just continued to shake her head. "Oh gods. I have to go. I have to go." She fumbled to take a step away from the bed but nearly fell over for her efforts, her body weak and aching from injury and disuse. 

Brecc grabbed her arm. "You can't go anywhere. You're too weak."

"Don't touch me!" She said, practically yelling in his face. She pushed him away, but immediately regretted it when she saw him wince from pain.

Then the door opened and a tall figure filled the doorway. Sharp blue eyes pinned her to her spot. She had no trouble recognizing who those blue eyes belonged to.

"George just sent me to tell everyone that he will be very upset if you damage his guest room." He said with amusement.

Thorn glanced around and saw that the room did look like a mess. The bed sheets had loosened and overturned when she had gotten tangled in them and the covers lay in a tousled pile on the ground. 

Brecc reached over and righted an over turned chair. Then he plunked himself down on it. "She wants to leave, Evin." He said flatly.

Evin entered the room and came toward her. She took it for as long as she could, but when he was only feet away and still coming toward her, she took a step back.

And tripped.

She reached out for something to stop her fall and her hand wrapped around someone's arm. Evin's arm. 

She glanced up at him, eyes wide. 

"Careful." He said to her. "You don't want to fall and hurt yourself again."

She released his arm, not caring any longer that she would fall to the ground, but Evin reached out and grabbed her before she could hit the floor.

Her temper flashed and she glowered up at him. "Don't touch me."

He raised a blonde eyebrow and glanced down at her. "You're allowed to touch me, but I'm not allowed to touch you? That's hardly fair." he teased.

She flushed and glanced away. 

"Evin." Miri said disapprovingly. It was the first time Thorn heard her being less than friendly.

Evin gave Miri a penetratingly glance but then looked back at Thorn. He picked her up and gently placed her down on the chair that Brecc had had his feet on earlier. He then knelt in front of her, so that she could rest her splinted leg on top of his shoulder because she could not bend it. She was suddenly glad of the long, full skirt that she was wearing.

She tried to pull her leg away, but moving it was heavy and painful, and he had one of his hands securely on top of her ankle, restraining her so that she could not move it. 

"I would like to have my leg back, if you don't mind." She said, grimacing.

He raised his eyebrow again. "But I do. And don't worry. My intentions are completely innocent."

Brecc snorted from his seat beside them.

Evin grinned. "Now what were you telling my companions before I arrived?"

"I have to go." she bit out.

"Why?"

"That's none of your business." she said coldly.

"Where is it that you have to go?" He asked.

She didn't answer.

He looked up at her carefully. "You want to go back to the bandits, don't you?"

Miri started making a sound of protest but Evin shook his head for silence. Brecc watched silently, one hand absently rubbing his side.

Thorn glanced away, but she saw Evin reach a hand up toward her face as if to touch her and she turned to glare at him.

"That's better." Evin said, a touch of a smile coming to his lips. "From what I saw while I was with the bandits, you did not like being there any more than I. But why would you want to go back?" He asked her softly.

"Why I want to go anywhere is none of your concern. I demand that you release me. And where is my staff?"

Evin gazed up at her appraisingly. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that." he said gently.

She blinked. "What?"

Evin shook his blonde head. "There are people who will speak with you before you will be allowed to go anywhere."

She shook her head briskly. "No, you don't understand. I have to go."

"You might be able to leave after you speak with those who wanted to speak with you--"

"No! I have to leave and I have to leave NOW!" She tried to get to her feet but could not keep her balance. Evin gently pushed her back onto the bed. "Please, you have to let me go." She said pleadingly.

They didn't understand. Torhte, he was going to think that Thorn left and willingly went to the Riders. He was going to think that she betrayed him and the rest of the bandits. He was going to kill her sister for her mistaken betrayal.

Evin reached down and took her shaky fingers into his firm ones. "Tell me why, and perhaps I will be able to arrange something."

She numbly shook her head. If she showed up at the bandit camp with a bunch of Riders, it would kill any chance of being able to save Asianna if she wasn't dead already. "I can't. I can't." she said faintly.

There was a silence as the Riders considered what she said and how to handle the situation. Thorn took the moment to reach out with her mind and call to her staff.

There. She felt it somewhere nearby, but not in the same room as she. She breathed a sigh of relief. At least it hadn't been left at the raid site. Then a thought struck her and she glanced down at Evin.

"How long have I been unconscious and asleep."

He mulled over the question. "Perhaps a day and a half."

Her heart sank. A day and a half? So long? If Torhte had thought that Thorn had betrayed him, than Asianna would be dead and cold by now. All she could do is hope that Torhte didn't believe that she had tried to escape and hadn't killed her sister. Thorn would have to bide her time before making her escape to find out the truth of whether or not Asianna was already dead. 

Then she spoke about another thing that was troubling her mind. "Why are you doing this?" She asked, her gaze sliding from the sympathetic Miri to the edgy and unimpressed Brecc and finally to the unperturbed Evin.

"Why are we doing what?" Miri asked.

Thorn gave her a skeptical look. "Well, whenever I thought about what might happen if I ever got captured, it always involved being locked up in a dark dungeon with a bunch of rats. Not a guest room in the home of Tortall's first Lady Knight." she said flatly. 

"Well," Evin said with an easy shrug, "you have to be more careful. Things don't always come out the way one would expect."

~~~~~~

****

A.N.- wow, can you believe it? Evin was actually talking in this chapter! He has more than a 'look at me, I'm sitting here' role. A friend was complaining about that to me yesterday. Well, I hope everyone likes my latest chapter. It is kind of long, but the last chapter was kinda short, so this makes up for it. Review and tell me what you think.

~Krizsta


	7. The Unexpected Gift

****

The Unexpected Gift

"Checkmate."

It was mid morning of the next day and the end of Brecc and Evin's third chess game. Miri sat next to the chessboard, laughing at Brecc's disgruntled expression after losing for the second time.

She had tried to leave the room last night, and after several tries, she realized that someone must be using their Gift to ensure that she remained in the room. Knowing that fact made her grumpy and reticent with the Riders. 

Thorn, who lay on the bed, was staring out the window and having a conversation with the tree that stood right outside and her staff, which she still didn't have yet. 

::That's not exactly correct, Thorn.:: her staff said to her. ::Plants cannot grow simply because you ask them too.::

::But that's what I always do--::

::Not exactly.:: her staff said again. ::When you ask a plant to do something unnatural, like moving over or bending down in a certain way, don't you find yourself more tired than you do when you just ask a plant to grow?::

::Well…yes.:: She said a bit uncertainly.

::Exactly. Plants don't naturally move over or grow to it's complete adult form within moments. And since it's not natural, you have to help.::

The tree outside the window expressed its curiosity.

::Every time Thorn asks a plant to do something that is unnatural, she has to offer the plant some of her own…energy so that it could fulfill her request. When she wants a plant to grow quickly, she only needs to offer it a small amount of her strength since growing is natural, but the speed with which she wants is not. But when she wants a plant to move unnaturally, like bending over or turning a certain way, she has to offer much more energy since movement like that is not natural to the way a plant grows and is. That's why she becomes more tired from asking a plant to do something like that.:: Her staff said.

Thorn quietly pondered on what her staff said. It made sense after all. Growing things like mushrooms and vines was easy. Manipulating rose bushes so that they grew a certain way and moved a certain way was not. And she was always exhausted after one of the raids in which she had to use her plants to help in the destruction of villages. 

::But what about you? I didn't feel any pulls of energy or any tiredness after you pulled that stunt with the rose in front of Torhte and the rest of the bandits.:: she pointed out.

::Well, I've been around you so long that some of your power has leaked into me. I have your strength stored inside my wood, and whenever I need to do something unnatural, like dig into the hands of loathsome bandits, I can do so without calling on your power. As a result, I'm a totally different case and not in the least comparable to a normal plant.::

The last statement was said in a way that was just so human that she laughed out loud. 

The tree which stood outside her window rustled a warning at her.

"Well, Thorn, would you mind sharing with us what you found so laughable?" 

She blinked. "What?"

Evin was glancing at her inquiringly while Brecc just cocked his head and gave her a curious look. Miri sat between them, looking about uncertainly.

"I know that Brecc losing for the second time this morning is a funny concept," Brecc snorted, "but it isn't that funny." Evin drawled.

"I was just laughing at some private thought." she conceded.

"Would you mind sharing it with us?"

"Does the word 'private' have any meaning to you?" 

Evin stood up and stretched, not in the least bit miffed. "Not the last time I checked." he said. He grinned mischievously at her. "When was the last time you washed behind your ears?"

"Excuse me?"

He reached over with one of his hands and before she could pull away, brushed his hand softly against her ear. When he pulled away and opened his hand, she saw that there was a pretty white daisy lying delicately on his palm. "You never know what sorts of things can be growing behind your ear."

She gasped in surprise, one hand instinctively going to the ear that he had brushed. And while she was still looking at him in surprise, he closed his fingers back over the flower again and flicked his wrist. When he opened his hand, the flower was no longer there.

She gasped again. "What --"

"Oh, don't worry." he assured her. "It's right here." He lifted his other hand, the hand that had been by his side all the while, and when he revealed his palm she saw that the daisy was now lying there. "I have a bit of Player's talent running in my blood." Evin said as a way of explanation.

Brecc sighed and shook his head. "He never gets tired of using that trick on the girls, does he."

"Apparently not." Miri murmured in agreement.

Evin feigned a hurt look. "I don't use the trick on all the girls."

"Nope, just the ones that you like." Brecc turned to glance at Thorn slyly. "Not that he's that picky." He said to her. "Nope, just as long as they're all pretty and --"

"Don't listen to him." Evin interrupted with a grimace. He leaned toward her and whispered conspiratorially, "besides, he's just jealous."

"I heard that." Brecc said.

At first she thought that Brecc was insulted, but as she studied him, she realized that he wasn't insulted at all. Bantering like this must be common between them, she realized. 

How wonderful, she thought wistfully to herself, to be able to have friends like these to banter and joke with all you wish without having to worry about insulting one another. She was never able to talk to Asianna in such a way…

"Is something the matter?"

Evin was glancing over at her from beside her bed with a look of concern.

She quickly shook her head. "Nothing I can't handle myself." She said.

"You shouldn't do that you know."

She frowned. "Do what?"

"Keep it all inside. It isn't good for you."

Before she could give a scathing reply to his patronizing concern, he stood up and motioned to the other two Riders. "Perhaps we should go now. Thorn looks tired." He opened the door and let the others leave the room first. Then he turned to her. 

"You should try having conversations with people. Who knows, maybe they'll be as interesting as the tree outside your window."

She flushed as she comprehended the fact that he had realized what she had been doing during his chess games. 

And before he fully closed the door, he leaned out one more time. "And you might want to check your right hand." Then he closed the door.

"My right hand?" She said to herself with confusion. She lifted her hand and realized that she was holding something. Evin must have snuck it into her grasp while he was leaning over her, she realized. She opened her hand and stared down at what she held. A delicate white daisy. 

****

A.N. - thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter! I'm glad everyone liked it. Now, perhaps you'd like to comment on this chapter too?

~Krizsta


	8. The Volunteer

****

The Volunteer

Miri entered the dining room first. She nodded at George as a way of hello before sitting in a seat across from him.

"Not a very productive morning?" George asked, corner of his mouth raised in amusement as he watched Brecc and Evin also take a seat around the table.

"Three chess games." Brecc said with a shrug.

"With me winning two and Brecc winning one." Evin said mischievously.

Brecc rolled his eyes. "Chess wasn't the only game you tried to win, Evin."

George raised an inquiring eyebrow at that. "Oh?" 

"He used a pulling the flower out of the ear trick on her." Miri said, shaking her head.

"That old trick?" George scoffed.

"Not that old, George." Evin said with a grin. "After all, you're still here." 

"Oh, oh, oh!" George laughed. "So what does everyone think of the girl?"

"Well," Miri said first, "I don't think she's that bad of a person."

Brecc gave a disbelieving snort. 

"She reminds me of an unhappy caged animal." Evin offered musingly.

"A _dangerous _caged animal."

"But that doesn't necessarily mean that she's a bad person." Miri pointed out. "After all, she carefully treated our wounds didn't she? We owe her for that --"

"So what? She's great at treating wounds. It doesn't mean she's a good person." Brecc interrupted. "And we don't owe her anything. We got our own healers to heal her injury, didn't we?"

"She did more than treat my injury, Brecc. She defended me when the bandits tried to…" Miri's voice faded into silence. "I'm still indebted to her." she finally said. 

"So am I." Evin agreed. Then he shook his head ruefully and gazed at Miri. "She did more than defend you, Miri. She was absolutely furious. You should have seen the way that bandit flew off the his horse." Evin said with a glint in his eye. "He was lucky that she struck him in the chest where he was covered with clothing. Otherwise, he would have had some nasty injuries because of the thorns on her staff."

"Yes, she has a very interesting staff." George mused. 

"We need to get her out of her shell." Evin said. "There's something about the bandits. Some reason why she won't just leave." He brooded. 

"Maybe she is in love with one of the bandits." Miri guessed.

Evin shook his head. "No, it isn't that. She would not have reacted the way she had if that was the reason why she wanted to go back. She wanted to go back because she was _frightened_. It was not the kind of anxiety and worry one would feel because of a lover."

"Frightened?" Brecc scoffed. "Of what?"

"That's what we need to find out." George said. "You're right, Evin. We need to bring her out of her shell so she could speak with us. Not just because we need to know why she is so attached to the bandits, but also to lighten her up for when the others come to talk to her. Whether she will be proclaimed a criminal or not, all sits on the impression that she makes on them."

His statement was followed by a contemplative silence. 

"I could try to --" Evin started.

"Evin, don't turn this into one of your conquests." Miri said sharply.

Evin turned to glance at her. "This is too serious a situation for me to be making any conquests, Miri." He shrugged. "Besides, is anyone else volunteering?" 

Brecc shook his head fiercely. "Not me. She'll tear me to pieces if I try to speak with her."

Miri didn't look very willing either. "I don't think she really likes me…" she said softly.

Brecc shook his head. "She doesn't seem to like anyone." he said.

"And I guess that leaves me with the job of bringing her out of her shell." Evin said. He stood, nodding at everyone at the table, and walked out of the room.

There was a short silence. 

"The flirt." Brecc finally said, shaking his head. "If he breaks her heart, she'll probably try to break _him_. Literally."

~~~~~~~

****

A.N. - What do you think? Would Thorn really 'break' Evin if he broke her heart? Would he even be able to get into her heart? Does Thorn have a heart???

Share your thoughts with me, whether they are about my questions or just on what you thought of the chapter. Thanks for reading!

~Krizsta

P.S. - No way, Larzdinn. I will never get tired of reviews, even if they're repetitive. Besides, even repetitive ones are good. It lets me know that people are actually taking the time to read my story. Without reviews, I wouldn't have any motivation to finish my story. And finishing stories is a very prominent problem with me and my writings. So what's my point? Reviews = motivation. Motivation = finish of story. Finish of story = …..uh…happy readers? (I know I'll be glad that I was actually able to finish a story). 


	9. The Unsuccessful

****

The Unsuccessful 

Thorn sat in front of the window, her splinted leg propped up onto the chair across from her. It had taken her several moments to get into this position. Thank the gods for the cane one of the servants had dropped of. Elsewise, she probably wouldn't have made it one step pass the bed.

She stared out the open window, glancing into the courtyard.

::You should come out here.:: The tree outside said to her. ::The cool wind feels nice on your trunk.::

She smiled. ::I'm sorry, but I'm in no shape to just wander on outside.:: Actually, she was. Her leg felt wonderfully better. It was only the fear of breaking it again that kept her from taking off the splint. 

::Too bad.:: The tree said. ::It's so relaxing to be out here in the sun.::

Thorn leaned drowsily onto the window sill. She might have fallen asleep afterwards. Or maybe not. She didn't know.

But what she did know was that when she opened her eyes, she found herself looking straight into a pair of piercingly blue eyes.

"Oh god!" Thorn jumped in her seat. She placed a hand over her chest and tried to slow her rapidly beating heart.

"Not a god. Just me." Evin said with an easy smile. 

She rolled her eyes. "What do you think you're doing? Hiding in trees and scaring people?"

Evin pretended to give an offended huff. "Most women would be flattered to find me hiding in trees outside their window."

"Yes, and once you entered the room through the window, you've probably had to leave the same way when the husband came banging on the door." she said.

His eyes widened. "I don't have affairs with married women. I maybe be a rogue, but I'm not that dishonorable."

"Oh?" She raised a sardonic brow. "Then I suppose that you're the type to chase after the untouched virgins?"

He raised an eyebrow of his own. "No, I--"

"Oh, but then you must be a rake who only consorts with disreputable women?"

He sighed exasperatedly. The leaves of the tree he was in shook at his response. "Are you going to attack everything that I say?"

She pretended to think about it. "Yes." she said flatly.

"Well, maybe I should come into your room so that I am in a more comfortable position in which I can say my words."

Her eyes narrowed and she leaned away from the open window, starting to close it. "Or maybe you shouldn't say anything at all."

"What's this?" a voice she did not recognize said from somewhere outside.

Evin glanced down from his position in the tree. He grinned. "Good afternoon, Thom."

"Does my father know that you're climbing all over our trees, Evin?" the voice said with curiosity.

Evin shook his head. "I suppose you're going to tell him, since he doesn't know?"

"Oh of course. And he will also love hearing about this very interesting conversation you're having with the lady from the guestroom."

Thorn's curiosity finally got the best of her and she stepped forward. She glanced over the sill and saw a young, red headed boy standing on the grass and looking interestedly up at the tree and window. 

"Hello." he said shyly to her. "My name is Thom." He looked to be about thirteen.

She gazed down at him. "My name is Thorn. And I'm not a lady."

"Oh? Then what are you?" Evin asked her.

She paused a moment. "A prisoner."

"That's not exactly --"

"A weapon." she went on as if Evin hadn't spoken. "A thing to be used and abused." she said quietly. She leaned away from the window again and closed it, silently pulling the curtains shut afterwards.

~~~~~

****

A.N. - Yes, I know, another short chapter. Sorry, but it just had to be done. Review and tell me what you think!

~Krizsta


	10. The Drastic

****

The Drastic

She was in the middle of practicing how to walk with her cane when there was a knock on the door. She paused mid-step, considering whether or not she actually wanted to open the door. Then she sighed and hobbled toward the door, slowly opening it. 

Evin stood there, a tray held in his arms. He glanced down at her and her cane. 

"How is your leg?" he asked her softly.

She blinked at him suspiciously. His soft, concerned voice was quite different from the tone he took when he flirted with her. 

When he saw her suspicion, the corner of his mouth quirked into a roguish smile. That was something she was more used to. 

"My leg is fine. What do you want?"

The rest of his mouth folded into his smile. "I brought you lunch."

"How nice." she said in a voice that said that she did not really think that was nice at all. "Here, I'll take it, and then you could leave--"

"I've also come to keep you company." He said.

"No, that's really not necessary." she said quickly, shaking her head. 

"Thorn." He tilted his head downwards until she glanced up into his eyes. "Why don't you just stop pushing me out the door? Because I'm not going to go away." he said gently. 

"Until you get what you want." she said, turning away.

"And what is it that I want?"

She didn't reply.

"I don't want anything from you."

She let out a laugh that was so bitter that it hurt her own ears to hear it. "That's a joke." 

"Is it?" Evin asked her evenly. "Because I'm not laughing." 

She gazed up at him uncertainly, not sure how to reply. She took a step back into the room, once again forgetting about her injured leg, and lost her balance. 

There was a clatter as the tray with food fell to the floor. Surprisingly, she did not join it. 

Evin peered down at her with a look of concern. "Are you all right?" he asked her as he carefully set her back on her feet again.

Thorn closed her eyes for a moment, resting a hand absently on Evin's shoulder. "Damn it." She murmured quietly. She opened her eyes and shook her head. "I'm such an idiot."

"No, you're not." He told her soothingly. "You just need to practice walking backwards with your cane." He glanced at the spilled tray of food. "Well, there goes lunch." he said.

They both stared silently at the splattered lunch.

"Perhaps you'd like to go--" He began tentatively.

"No." she interrupted.

He raised his brow and shook his head with exasperation. "You didn't even let me finish my sentence."

She smiled with satisfaction. "No, I didn't." she agreed.

The corner of his mouth twitched with the effort to keep in his laughter. But then he just gave up and laughed. 

Strangely enough, she found that she wanted to laugh with him. She squashed down that feeling immediately. She realized that she still had her hand lightly on his shoulder and jerked it away.

"I've got to stop leaning on you." She said quietly. She glanced around and then took a careful step backwards, smiling when she found that she was able to do so without tripping. 

"Sometimes, it's good to lean on people other than yourself." Evin said.

Her smile dropped. "Sometimes you don't trust people enough to lean on them." She retorted.

"Perhaps you just haven't met the right people." He replied.

"Perhaps I don't want to." She rejoined.

Evin tilted his head and glanced down at her, scrutinizing her. He gazed at her silently for several long moments.

"Stop staring." she finally said, flustered.

He held up his hands to her, palms upward. She stared at his hands suspiciously, almost expecting another flower. He saw the look, and she saw the corner of his mouth folding into his familiar roguish smile. Then it disappeared and he grew serious.

"Have I don't something to offend you?" He questioned.

She didn't reply.

"Have I done something to anger you?" 

She glanced away.

Evin put his thumb under her chin until she was gazing at him again.

"Have I done anything to upset you? Anything at all?"

She did not like the way this conversation was going. She wanted to step back again. But then she might trip. 

"Or maybe it isn't something that I've done." Evin went on ponderingly. "Perhaps this is the way you handle everyone?"

She pulled away and saw his hand reaching toward her again, this time she grabbed his wrist first and glared up at him. "How I choose to handle people is my business. Maybe you should accept the message and just leave me alone." she snapped.

Evin gave a silent sigh and stepped even closer to her. He knew that she was not going to give in and open up to him unless he did something drastic. "You're a cowardly b***h, you know that?"

Thorn's eyes widened in surprise. "Excuse me--"

"No, no more. Do you think that life is that simple? That you could just snap insults at people that you don't even know just to make them stop bothering you? Just so that you could retreat into your own little world with plants?" he asked, incensed. "No, sorry." he said flatly. "Life doesn't work that way. You can't just shut yourself off from things you fear. You've obviously been hurt, badly, by people in your past."

"No. Stop it." Thorn turned her face again and shut her eyes. "Shut up. You don't know anything."

"No, I won't. You just want me to stop because you know I'm right." he continued to press her. "You've had some bad experiences in the past, and now, because of them, you shut yourself off from the rest of the world and refuse to let them in. You don't want to risk the chance of being hurt again."

"No! That's not true! Shut up!" Thorn slowly slid to the floor and covered her face with her hands. Her brown hair fell in a curtain around her face. 

"What were your words? A weapon to be used and abused? Well, maybe you're right. But how do you expect to change that? How can you change that at all, when you yourself are the one who is shutting people out without even getting to know them? People who could help you become more than a weapon. You hate your position, but you've locked yourself in it because you refuse to let people in and help you."

Evin knelt down next to the girl. "Thorn, open up and let people in. Otherwise, how are they supposed to help you?" He pulled Thorn's hair away from her face to glance into her teary brown eyes. He caught a trembling tear with his fingertip. "How are they supposed to help you? And most of all, how am _I _supposed to help you."

Evin tenderly put his arms around Thorn and let her cry her silent tears into his shoulder.

~~~~~

****

A.N.- Well, what do you think? Did Evin go too far? Or was doing the drastic the right thing?

I hope everyone likes this chapter.

~Krizsta


	11. The Seriousness

****

The Seriousness

"So, my son tells me that you called Evin a wife-chasing scoundrel, a virgin lover, and a disreputable rake, all within the same minute?" The man called George said to her. 

Thorn flushed and glanced awkwardly down at her plate of food.

Evin shook his head. "She said that before she knew me."

George raised a sly eyebrow. "I'd say that she knew you too well."

Brecc and Thom laughed. 

"That's what you get for climbing up a tree to Thorn's window." Brecc mocked.

"Whatever was wrong with trying the door, like normal people would, Evin?" Miri said with a frown that was too serious for the conversation.

Brecc arranged his face in a way that clearly displayed his belief of Evin ever acting as a 'normal' person would.

"What if you had been hurt?" Miri asked persistantly. "What if you had fallen from the tree?" She asked with concern. 

"Even if he had fallen, at least his head wouldn't have been injured. It's too hard for that." Brecc remarked.

"Well, you need a hard head to protect a good brain. Yours on the other hand, Brecc, is soft and unused, so your head doesn't have much to protect--"

Evin ducked as Brecc threw a piece of buttered roll at him, and George laughed when he saw that the bread just missed in getting itself stuck in Evin's blonde hair. 

The six of them, including the three riders, Thorn, George, and his eldest son, were seated around the dining room table, eating dinner. Or at least, attempting to do so.

Evin got an evil glint in his eye. "Oh yeah?" He said to Brecc as he eyed the offending piece of buttered roll which was now lying on the floor. He then turned his gaze to his own bread.

"Evin, no!" Miri laughed helplessly as she and Brecc got bombarded with bread. Soon, the war was on, and when the Riders were out of bread, they turned to other pieces of foods on their plates. Thom, too, quickly joined in and started spattering the Riders with his own food. 

Thorn sat back in her seat and watched quietly. She didn't know why she had agreed with Evin to come eat dinner with the others. After Thorn's embarrassing episode in her room, Evin had invited her out onto a picnic and she had meekly agreed. Surprisingly enough, the afternoon had been quite pleasant. Eating a light lunch in the courtyard with Evin had turned out to be very relaxing and entertaining. He had even made her laugh several times. He hadn't asked or questioned her past at all. And then when he had asked her to eat dinner with him and the others in the dining room, she had been in a good enough mood to agree. She wasn't quite so sure about it now. 

"You are not going to join in?"

Thorn blinked for a moment, and then realized that George was glancing at her curiously. The man was unlike any man she had ever met. But then again, she was doing that a lot lately, meeting people of the likes that she never would have thought existed.

"No. I'd rather keep the food in my stomach than in other people's faces." She said after a moment.

He nodded approvingly. "Sensible of you."

She glanced at him inquisitively. "Aren't you going to ask them to stop?" she asked uncertainly.

George shrugged and grinned. "Doesn't matter. They'll be the ones to clean it up." 

His grin was so mischievous that she was thrown a bit off track. _If George is like this and he is the Lioness' husband, I wonder what the Lioness will be like_, she thought to herself. 

Then George grew serious. "You should try to get as much sleep and rest as you can tonight so that you're ready for tomorrow." he said.

She was instantly suspicious. "What happens tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow, you will stand up to Tortallan judgment. You will meet with those who will decide your fate." His words seemed a bit too foreboding for someone like George to say. 

"Wha-what do you mean?" she stammered. Because she was so suddenly focused on George and his words, she did not hear the abrupt end of the food fight and the utter silence which followed it.

"Tomorrow, it will be decided whether you are a punishable criminal in the country of Tortall."

~~~~~ 

****

A.N. - what do you think will happen? Will she be proclaimed a criminal in the next chapter? Or will Thorn somehow find a way out of it?

~Krizsta 


	12. The Escape

****

A.N. - it seems to me that there were a lot of people who were …mildly surprised at my chapter 11. :) Now I find myself wanting to ask, WHY? Was it the ending that was so very shocking? Did everyone just expect thorn and evin to fall in love and then live happily ever after? Or perhaps everyone thought that they'd go, rescue Asianna, and then live happily ever after? Sorry, all the confusion about this is my fault. In all the business of being nice to Thorn so that she would come out of her shell, I've let people forget that she is still a prisoner. She isn't allowed to leave Pirate's Swoop. (remember back in chapter 6 when Brecc and Evin said that she couldn't leave before she talked to certain people?)

thorn is still seen as a bandit. She helped in the bandits' raids by using her power. If you knew someone who had participated in the act of burning down your …village and took everything of value to you, would you let them run around freely, even if they had a good excuse for their actions? Let's examine Thorn through the eyes of someone who _didn't _know her, her thoughts, her past, her fears. She would no longer be a misunderstood, abused young woman. Instead, she'd be seen as a criminal. And that's how uninformed citizens of Tortall see her at the moment…

Sorry if the end of last chapter came as a surprise. *sigh* I hope this helps to clear it up. 

~Krizsta

****

12. The Escape

The splint flew across the room and hit the wall with an interesting smack. It had been a couple days since she had been injured, and her leg was as good as new. Almost. She had to lope around with the cane though, which annoyed her to no end. She would have rather used her staff.

Thorn struggled into the clean clothes that had been lain out for her. She had shooed away the servant who had remained with the clothes with the order to help Thorn put them on. She now found herself almost regretting it.

They had lain out a goddamn dress for her. How long had it been since she had last been in a dress? First they had given her skirts, now they had given her a dress. And her old clothes were no where in sight.

The dress wasn't fancy, at least. George had enough sense not to waste a fancy dress on her. Instead, the cloth was soft, but durable. The color was a light shade of brown, a color usually worn while doing hard-work. There were no extravagant frills and trimmings, but the skirt was long and full and fell elegantly around Thorn's lower body.

She immediately felt self-conscious as she gazed at herself in the mirror. The dress seem to accentuate on Thorn's small figure and made her brown eyes seem impossibly big. She looked like a young girl, she realized. Certainly not a woman of nineteen years. She scowled at her reflection.

That's how she greeted Evin when he came knocking at the door. Her small mouth was pressed into a frown and her eyes clearly showed her unhappiness.

Evin glanced over her and then opened his mouth to comment.

"Say anything about how I look and I will clobber you." She said threateningly.

His mouth closed, but smoothed out into his familiar smile. "I was just about to comment on how --"

She lifted her cane. 

"-- pleasant your disposition is this morrning."

She lowered her cane but did not reply.

"I'm sorry if the dress offends you, but we just thought that it would make a better impression on the king." He said as they started to walk down the hall.

She gave a very unlady-like snort.

Evin stopped walking to glance earnestly down at her. "The rest of your life depends on this moment. Remember how you told us that you thought that you'd be locked away into a dungeon if you were ever captured? Well that's still a possibility. This meeting is important. Please understand how important it is."

Understand? She understood _too_ well. She knew that he was right. She wasn't completely unfeeling to the pressure of the situation.

But the thing was, she was used to the pressure. Just as this Tortallan king had held Thorn's life in his hands, Torhte had too. She had lived under pressure like this for seven years. And she certainly wasn't about to bow down like a submissive slave now. 

She followed Evin into the courtyard in which they had eaten lunch yesterday. He led her across the lawn to several people who were huddled into a group and studying something that lay on the ground.

"Evin." One of the two women who were waiting for them called to Evin with a smile.

"Good morning, Daine." He returned her hug.

"So is this the one we've been hearing so much about?" The other woman said. "She's looks like a little girl."

George had his arm around this woman's shoulders, so she must be Lady Alanna. " Ahh, Lady Knight," he said teasingly, "but appearances can be deceiving." He glanced down his wife's own diminutive form.

The Lioness flushed. The red in her cheeks was not half as bright as her bright hair. 

Then Thorn saw what lay on the ground between the huddled group and suddenly smiled. Her staff, the group had been huddled around to study her staff. She stepped toward it and easily picked it up. 

"I'll be taking this back, if you don't mind." she said.

"Thorn," Evin said, stepping toward her until he stood beside her. He pointed at the purple eyed, red-haired woman. "This is the infamous Lady Alanna. And this is Veralidaine Sarrasri, also known has the Wildmage." The pretty woman who had called out to Evin smiled at Thorn. Evin turned to the man who stood beside the Wildmage. "This is Numair Salmalin." This man turned to stare at her assessingly while rubbing his chin absently. She in turn stared right back, until after a long moment, the man smiled with amusment. 

"And this," Evin motioned to the last two people in the group, "is Queen Thayet and King Jonathan." The Queen, who was astoundingly beautiful, gave Thorn a small smile of welcome. The king was equally striking, with coal black hair and sharp blue eyes that that looked as if they never missed anything. His gaze was cold and he gave her an arrogant, aloof smile.

She disliked him immediately. 

"Nice to meet you." she said in a tone that contradicted her words. If the king was expecting a curtsy, he wasn't going to get one. 

"So you have the power to control plants?" The king asked her.

"No."

"But you used them to help The Bloody Thorns while raiding." Alanna pointed out.

"The Bloody Thorns?" she asked.

The others glanced at each other.

"The name given to your notorious group. Your destructive roses are known as your group's trademark." The black haired man said. What was his name again? Numair Salmon?

"Roses have now fallen out of favor. All who have heard of your group fear even going near rose bushes. They fear that the roses may come alive, just like when they do when you order them to destroy a village." The king said.

"I don't _order_ them to do anything." Thorn retorted. 

"Oh?" Numair said. 

"I _ask _them. And they comply." she said stiffly.

"Interesting." he said. "You are able to communicate with plants? Like people communicate with people?" He asked curiously. 

"Numair." The woman Evin had called Daine said warningly.

Numair blinked, and then he sighed. 

Daine let out a small smile and then reached over to give his hand an affectionate squeeze. 

Lovers, she realized. They were lovers. But he seemed so much older…

"You must care for your sister very much if you are willing to hurt and kill innocent people to keep her alive." Alanna suddenly said.

Thorn's eyes widened. "How did you know--"

"One of the other bandits whom we've captured told us. He was quite emphatic in his insistence that you are not to be blamed. What was his name again?" the king frowned.

"Lathan." the queen supplied. 

"Lathan is still alive?" Thorn questioned.

"No." the king said coolly. "He died early yesterday from infection from his wound."

Thorn's face fell. He had been like a father to her during their long years together. Lathan might not have been completely loyal to her, but he had understood and took care of her better than her real father ever had. The king's nonchalant tone with which he mentioned Lathan's death made the pain of the death hurt even more.

"Were you good friends?" The queen suddenly asked her sympathetically.

"He was my guard. His job was to protect me from the other bandits." She said quietly.

"You must have been living in a very bad environment. If you had to have a guard to protect you from the other bandits." Alanna remarked. "Why didn't you just run away?"

"My sister-"

"You seem to be very powerful. Why don't you run away together?"

Thorn laughed scornfully. "Do you think that I have not tried that? I had become too valuable to the bandits. They kept my sister under lock and key. I never knew where she was in the encampment half the time, one of the mages placed a protective circle where we could not see or hear anything that happens within. I was only allowed to see her once a week." Thorn stated coldly. 

Evin placed a gentle hand on her arm as if to warn her.

"Tell us, how ever did you come into companionship with the bandits?" Daine asked curiously.

"It's quite a simple story actually. My sister and I were sold to them."

"Sold?" The way in which the woman said the word clearly showed her dislike of it. "By who?"

"Our father." Thorn shrugged at the woman's shock. "It was selling us or losing his life. He was very eager to give us up." 

Daine shook her head in disgust.

"So they kept your sister to ensure your obedience." The king restated. "And you were willing to kill others to keep her safe?"

"Yes."

The king smiled scornfully. "You must have been an ever obedient servant then."

"No, I wasn't." she said in a tone that was just as scornful as the king's smile.

"No?" He said doubtfully.

"No. If I remember correctly, I provoked and angered Torhte at every turn."

"Torhte?" The Queen asked.

"The leader of the bandits." Evin answered.

"Just because I had to obey his commands, it does not mean that obeyed him willingly. I lived to anger and frustrate Torhte."

"But you still obeyed his commands and killed innocent people." The king stated.

"Your highness, you make Thorn sound like an evil witch, and I know that isn't true." Evin interrupted. "She helped Brecc, Miri, and me. She even risked Torhte's wrath to give me some food-"

"That's not true, Evin. I helped you for the very purpose of raising Torhte's anger. I wanted him angry."

Evin looked at her in surprise. "But he hurt you for it." He said, a bit confused.

Thorn shrug. "He only slapped me. I've faced worse before. Once he broke my arm in two places for defying him in front of a crowd of people." Thorn said expressionlessly. She used the tone of voice one might use when commenting on the weather. 

His eyes widened. He glanced down at the arm he still had his hand around, and quickly pulled away, as if afraid to hurt her. "But you helped Miri when that other bandit was touching her." he said, his voice strangely quiet. 

She shrugged. "That's wasn't because I was actually trying to help her. That was because of personal reasons. When I saw that bandit touching her," she shrugged, "it raised bad memories."

Evin started and his mouth formed into an angry frown. "Memories? Did they do the same to you--" He started to demand angrily.

"And the memories made me lose my temper with the bandit." Thorn went on as if Evin hadn't spoken. "Miri just happened to be helped by the situation is all."

His mouth opened and he stared at her in disbelief. And beneath all the disbelief, there was hurt.

"Oh please, Evin, don't tell me you thought that I was trying to help you out of the goodness of my heart. I'm not that humanitarian. Why should I be? Nobody's ever helped me." She said evenly.

Evin closed his mouth, still staring at her. Then he shook his head, breaking his gaze, and then abruptly turned on his heel and walked away.

She felt a unfamiliar twinge in her chest as she watched Evin walk angrily away from her. And when she looked back toward the others even Daine, George, and the Queen were glancing at her disapprovingly. 

"Your efforts of constantly trying to provoke Torhte's anger are petty and childish." The king said coldly. "You seem to care for your sister, but you act like a cold-hearted b***h to everyone else."

Thorn smiled a brittle smile. "I don't care. Think whatever you want of me. Frankly, I don't think too much of you, either."

The king's eyes widened as he realized that she had voiced a direct insult. He turned to the others. "That's it." He said angrily. "This one is going into the deepest, darkest jail cell we could find."

Suddenly, Thorn raised her staff and moved the head of it in a circular motion. 

"What in the name of the gods?" George said with shock.

Buds appeared in the ground around the group. The buds grew at an amazing pace, growing circularly around the huddled group as everyone watched. 

Alanna pulled drew her sword and started slashing at the rosebushes that were quickly surrounding her and the group. But they were growing too quickly for her.

Thorn stepped away from the sudden wall of roses that was growing between her and the others. She watched with just as much shock as they did. Soon, the bushes grew tall enough that Thorn could not see over it. And they continued to grow.

::Well, what are you waiting for?:: Her staff suddenly said to her.

"What, did you do this?" She asked as she stared at the rose wall which encased the nobles.

::You wanted a way to escape. You did this.::

"But I didn't have any seeds!" She did not deny that she had wanted an opportunity to escape.

::I provided you with the seeds and released them when you moved me in a circular motion. Now I recommend that you run.::


	13. The Deceit

****

A.N. *thinks contemplatively* Did I make Jon too mean last chapter? Perhaps. But I needed Thorn to be angry and frustrated enough to do something desperate (growing the roses and trapping the nobles) and Jon just seemed like the most likely candidate. Could you see Thayet, Alanna, Daine, or Numair doing something like that? Nope, I couldn't. and let's not forget that Thorn wants to escape from the nobles so that she could rescue her sister.

And don't worry. Evin isn't to be banished from my fic forever. He will appear again, just not in this chapter…

~Krizsta

****

13. The Deceit 

Well, at least she wasn't hungry.

Thorn sighed and settled herself down on a rock. She was exhausted and utterly lost. 

"Well, what a brilliant escape attempt this was. Instead of rotting away in a jail cell, I'll end up wandering in this forest for the rest of my days."

The tree that stood over her bent its branches to brush its leaves against her shoulders reassuringly. She smiled, touched at its concern.

At least she wouldn't lack companionship.

::Maybe you should ask it for help.:: Her staff said to her.

She flinched with surprise. "Your awake?" After the staff had told her to run and after she had slowed her run to a walk, the staff had seemed to draw away from her and into itself. Not physically. It was more of a mental thing…if her staff even had such a thing. When she had prodded her staff with her mind out of curiosity, she had gotten the strange feeling of sleep and rest. 

::Well of course. Every being has to get its rest.:: her staff said to her, as if staffs drawing away from its owners to take a nap was the most sensible thing in the world. 

"If you say so." She said a bit uncertainly. "Now what was that about asking the tree for help?"

::Oh, Thorn.:: Her staff said. If her staff had had a head, it would have shaken it at her. ::With so much power but so little thought on how to use it.:: The staff said to her affectionately. ::Maybe the tree can tell us where the bandits are.::

Tree? Tell her? Where the bandits are?

_Why_ hadn't she thought of that?

Thorn leaped onto her feet, her exhaustion forgotten. She reached out to the tree and made her request. 

::Bandits?:: The tree seemed to ponder. ::What's that?::

Thorn frowned and struggled for a way to describe bandits. "Well, they're men who prowl among the woods, preying on villages and towns that happen to come there way."

The tree seemed to consider it for a moment. ::No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen any of those recently.::

Thorn's face fell. But then she was struck with a sudden idea.

"Perhaps you can ask other trees if they've seen them by any chance?" She asked.

Her staff rustled approvingly at her question.

::I will try.:: the tree said.

Thorn smiled her thanks and resumed her sitting position to wait. 

_Oh please, Evin, don't tell me you thought that I was trying to help you out of the goodness of my heart. I'm not that humanitarian. Why should I be? Nobody's ever helped me._

Oh gods. She still couldn't believe she had said that to him. Why had she taken out her frustration from the king's cold questions on Evin? She was such a fool.

::The past is past.:: Her staff said to her gently. ::There is no use in thinking and beating yourself with it now.::

::That doesn't make me any less of a fool.:: Thorn replied silently.

::Well, I suppose that even the smartest people in the world act like fools at one time or another.::

::He didn't deserve to be treated that way.::

::I know, sweet. I know.::

~~~~

The trees led her through the forest. Well, not literally. But they told Thorn where to go to find the bandits.

Thorn stood uncertainly at the edge of the encampment, not exactly sure how to approach. She hadn't been spotted yet. 

::If you climbed a tree, you would have a better view into the camp.:: her staff offered.

::Good idea.::

Thorn pulled herself up the nearest tree. The tree, in turn, made it easy for her by providing foot holds in which to place her feet and hands. She was very thankful to the tree, for although her leg was nearly completely healed, it still felt stiff at times.

The first thing that she noticed was that the bandits were about half in number since the last raid. It looked as if all of the bandits who had participated in the raid had gotten captured or killed. Or both. Like Lathan. Only the bandits who had remained in camp and had fair warning when to retreat had been able to escape and survive.

As Thorn peered through the leaves and branches of the tree, trying to get a better view, when she gasped at what she saw. Torhte stood in the center of the camp. But that wasn't what surprised her. It was the person whom he was talking to. A curvy young woman, with shiny brown hair. Asianna.

Since when did Torhte let Asianna out of her tent and protective circle to wander around the camp?

She shook her head. Forget about that, she told herself. At least she's still alive. She gave a sigh of relief. 

The conversation went of for several moments. They seemed to be arguing. Finally, Torhte threw his arms up into the air in an exasperated manner and stalked away. Asianna smiled smugly before turning away and entering a nearby tent. She came out a few moments later, a pile of clothes in her arms and a towel draped over her shoulder.

There must be fresh water nearby where she could bathe in, Thorn realized. Her eyes rounded and she realized the possibilities. Nobody seemed to be following Asianna, she was going off alone. This would be the perfect time to grab Asianna and then run away. And if Thorn was able to do this, then she and Asianna wouldn't have to be captives of the bandits any more. Thorn wouldn't be used for her power. They would be free. Finally. After seven years of being with the bandits. It was almost too good to believe.

Thorn studied the direction in which Asianna left, and then quickly slid down the tree, almost snagging her dress on a branch in her hurry.

Thorn was just barely able to keep herself breaking into a run. It seemed like years later when she finally approached Asianna.

"Asianna!" Thorn called out quietly. 

Asianna froze mid-stride. She quickly turned around. "Thorn?" Her eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to rescue you, of course. What else?" Thorn laughed.

Asianna seemed to be in shock. She slowly bent down and placed her clothes on the ground before stepping closer. "Thorn…is that really you?" 

"Well, of course it is. You didn't think that I'd leave you hear with the bandits, did you?"

Asianna smiled. "No. You always did take care of me." she said warmly. "How did you get here? What happened to you at the raid?"

Thorn smiled ruefully. "I got rolled over by my horse. And then I got captured by the Riders." She shook her head, pushing the thought of Evin out of her mind. "It doesn't matter. I'm here now. Now we can get away from the bandits and live our own lives." 

Asianna smiled. "I'm glad you're alright, Thorn. I was worried when you weren't among those who returned after the raid."

Thorn frowned. "Torhte, he didn't hurt you did he? He didn't think that I had deserted?"

Asianna shook her head. "No, he didn't hurt me. He was too distracted for that."

Torhte too distracted to use the opportunity of hurting someone? Amazing.

"I became valuable to him when I helped treat those who were injured. He's become more lenient with me."

"Yes, I saw that you were out and wandering around the camp. Well, we should go now. Before anyone realizes anything."

Asianna suddenly looked over Thorn's shoulder and screamed.

Thorn quickly whirled around to face the danger, her staff up in the air in front of her. But after looking around, she realized there was none. She started to turn back to her sister, "Asianna, what --"

There was a sudden immense pain, as if someone had just smacked her across the temple with the broadside of a sword.

Thorn stumbled to the ground. But before she dropped into unconsciousness, she heard someone speak. 

"Sorry, Thorn, but we're not going anywhere." 

Asianna hesitated for only the slightest of moments before dropping the fist-sized rock that she had picked up when she had bent to put down her clothes. Then she quickly ran back to camp. 


	14. The Sorrow

****

14. The Sorrow

Thorn's eyes popped open when she felt the ice cold water cascade over her head and body. Luckily, no water ran into her mouth or nose, so she was spared the embarrassment of choking.

"What in the --" Thorn jerked her head upward, wanting to find the culprit, but immediately regretted the action. The sharp movement made a flash of pain jolt from one side of her head to the other. She felt dizzy and nauseated, which did not help the pain. She closed her head and stilled her body, not wanting any more flashes of pain like the first one.

"Well, it's about damned time." Thorn heard Torhte speak.

Thorn opened her eyes and slowly lifted her head until she met Torhte's gaze. He sat on a stool across from her, smiling at her in a smug manner.

"Well, our Thorn in a dress. I almost didn't recognize you." 

Thorn tried to move an arm into a more comfortable position than behind her back, only to realize that she couldn't move it at all. Her wrists were bound behind her back, and her ankles together in front of her. And Torhte had actually spent the effort into acquiring rope to bound her. 

Torhte's eyes narrowed when he was realized that he was not stirring a reaction from her.

"What a pleasant surprise I had, when Asianna ran into camp with the news that she had you."

That brought out a reaction. Torhte smiled, satisfied. 

"Asianna-" Thorn began.

"Asianna has done me the courtesy of bringing you back. I've very proud of her." 

Thorn blinked, trying to remember the moment before she had blacked out. Asianna had screamed, and Thorn had turned around to face the danger, and then…

"Asianna hit you with a rock." Torhte suddenly said, as if he could read her mind. "She knocked you out and then alerted us of your presence. 

Thorn stared at Torhte. _No_. Asianna wouldn't do that to her. She couldn't!

"You're lying." Thorn gasped out.

"No, he's not." another voice said.

Thorn slowly turned her head to watch Asianna breeze into the tent. Her beautiful brown hair flowed over her cloak like water as Asianna turned to meet Thorn. 

"Asianna? What is going on?" Thorn asked quietly, struggling to hold back her disbelief.

Asianna knelt beside Thorn, a hand reaching to stroke Thorn's own hair. "Oh, Thorn. Poor Thorn. Is Thorn confused?" She said softly in a tone one would use to talk to a young child.

"Asianna, did you --" _hit me with a rock?_ Thorn tried to say. But for some reason, those words got choked up in her throat. "Are Torhte's words true?" She finally said.

Asianna gave her a slow smile. "Yes."

"But _why?_" Her voice cracked on the second word. 

Asianna wrapped a strand of Thorn's hair around her finger. "Because I hate you."

The pain Thorn felt at that moment was worse than the pain she held felt from being rolled over by a horse, worse than the pain she had felt when being hit by a rock.

"It was always you, Thorn." Asianna grabbed the strand of hair that was still around her finger and gave it a vicious yank. "You were always the smarter one. The better one. The one with the special gift. The one that everyone wanted! I was always the victim, the back up, the emergency fill in. I was the one hiding in the background! People only cared about you! You were always more important!"

Asianna suddenly released Thorn's hair and stood up, stepping away from Thorn.

Thorn's eyes prickled from the pain that the yank and the movement of her head had caused. "Asianna…everything I ever did it was for you." She tried to protest.

Asianna gave a bitter laugh. "Liar." she said angrily. "You never even _saw _me half of the time! You said it yourself during the last meeting: you had never realized that I was beautiful until then! And that wasn't the only thing you didn't notice!" Asianna suddenly flung off her cloak and stepped closer to Thorn.

And Thorn stared.

"Oh Asianna, why didn't you tell me?" Thorn asked softly. 

"Tell you? Why didn't you ask!" Asianna pressed one hand over her rounded stomach protectively. "I'm eight and half months into my pregnancy, Thorn. Eight and a half. Why didn't you notice?"

That's why she had been wearing the cloak. That's why the hugs had stopped at their weekly meetings. That's why she had always stayed in bed. "But--" she started to say weakly.

"You know, Thorn, the first couple weeks we were with the bandits, I tried to remain cheerful. I thought that you would save me and take us both away from the bandits." Asianna said in a hard voice. "And I waited. I waited for you to save me! You didn't come. But like a fool, I trusted you. And so I waited some more. Only within the last year have I figured out that you actually liked your position, liked being with the bandits. Liked them more than me." She said bitterly. 

Asianna reached out with a hand, and Thorn watched as Torhte took it. 

"Well, I figured out that you weren't going to help me. So I had to help myself." She stood, tall and proud beside Torhte. "Did you know, Thorn, that there is quite a reward out there for your capture?"

Thorn lowered her head. She didn't want to see anymore. She didn't want to hear anymore. 

But perhaps Asianna was right. Maybe Thorn should have tried harder to get her free. Maybe she should have thought of _some_ way to escape. 

_Oh gods_. How disappointed Asianna must have been. To wait during the day for Thorn to come and rescue her, and then realize in the night that she wasn't coming. To live like that for nine years of her life. _Oh gods. _Thorn realized. _ She was a horrible older sister_. 

"Well, Torhte and I are going to hand you over to the King and claim that reward. Then we're going off and getting married. We're going to start a new life together." She paused for a moment. "Do you want to know what I think is the best part of my getting to start a new life?"

No, Thorn didn't want to know. No no no. But she couldn't help but hear.

"The best part is that it doesn't include you."

Thorn continued to gaze down at the ground. She kept her eyes opened big and wide, because if she shut them, she knew that a tear would escape. 

But perhaps this was best. Perhaps it would be better if Thorn surrendered herself. Then Asianna could claim the prize money and have another opportunity to live life. Any life was better than one as a prisoner. All this time, Thorn had always thought of her own rage, her own pain, her own anger at being a prisoner. But Asianna had been the true prisoner the whole time. And now look at what Thorn has driven her to. To actually wanting to live a life with Torhte! 

"I'm sorry." Thorn whispered raggedly. 

There was a silence following her words. For a moment, she thought that Asianna hadn't heard her. Then Asianna spoke. 

"Are you?" Asianna said disdainfully. "It doesn't matter. It's way too late for apologies now."


	15. The Helpless

****

A.N: Oh no! another author's note in the beginning of the chapter? _what _is the world coming to??

Well I just wanted to take a moment to say that I'm glad people are happy with how often I update (I try to update every night so its up by the next morning). But there is NO need for you to thank me. I should be thanking YOU. Your reviews give me the motivation to type my story. Because that's all that there is left. Typing my story. I know how this story is going to continue, I know how it's going to end (I predict it'll end somewhere between chapters 21 to 25). My readers and reviewers give me the motivation to get in front of the computer and type up the story that has already formed in my mind. 

So I just wanted to take this moment (I hope you guys don't mind too much, I know you wanted to know what happens in the next chapter), but I'd just like to say, "THANKS!" for reviewing and responding to my fic. Every single one (from ones with grammatical aid to ones with 'Asianna is EVIL') has been a lot of fun to read. 

This has been a great first fic experience. Thanks a lot guys.

Now, shall we get on with the next chapter? 

~Krizsta

P.S. - Sandman, I'm glad to be a help to another fellow writer. Good luck with your own writing. 

P.P.S. - ThePenMage, I'm not quite sure how I manage to update quite so often. But when I write, I try to keep myself ahead of the chapter that I'm posting, so even as your reading this, I'm working on my chapter 19. I try to write as much as I can during the weekend so that I could stay ahead by a couple chapters (and then I post one each day), but even then I find that I don't have enough time. Even at the moment, I'm worried that I won't be able to keep up with my daily updating toward the end of the story. *crosses fingers*

****

15. The Helpless

Pieces of mashed watermelon flew through the air and hit her shoulder. Some of it also got tangled in her hair and splattered on her neck.

This was the second village that Torhte and Asianna had walked her through. The plan was that while the other bandits remained at camp. Asianna and Torhte would bring her to Corus to offer to the king. However, Asianna and Torhte found it very beneficial to them to stop at other villages and towns along the way.

They had spent the whole day yesterday at the first one. Asianna and Torhte were showered with praise and flattery for the bringing in of a wanted criminal. They were offered the best rooms of the village to stay in for the night. They were given great gifts of thanks. How ironic, since they were also criminals themselves!

And while they had been fawned over, the villagers had cursed and leered at Thorn, whom Torhte and Asianna had tied to a stake in the middle of the village. 

The curses had been soon followed by pieces of rotten fruit, spoiled meat. Sometimes they also threw more harder things, like egg at her. And occasionally, a bold pack of boys pelted her with horse's dung.

They left her tied onto the stake throughout the night. Thorn had found it very difficult to fall asleep, when every once in a while, someone would interrupt her uncomfortable rest to bombard her with food. The bugs that were attracted to the food and smells that emanated from her were also an added nuisance.

In the morning, Asianna had pinched her nose at the smell and overturned several buckets of cold water over Thorn as an effort to clean her off. A wasted effort, since there were still patches of dried food and dung clinging to her wet skin and dress after Asianna was finished. 

"Witch!" Thorn distantly heard someone cry. Then a fresh apple hit her on the side of her face. The impact caused Thorn's head to jerk slightly to the side, but she did not give any other sign of recognizing what was going on around her. Which only made the rest of the crowd angrier. 

Thorn felt a questioning presence press against her mind, and Thorn immediately pushed it away. She didn't want to talk to anyone or anything, not the trees, not the flowers, not her staff. Torhte had brought her staff with them, but left it in the wagon. He was too afraid to stay near it for too long.

The crows cheered and whooped as Torhte finished telling his story. He and Asianna had concocted some wildly exaggerated story about how they had captured Thorn, and the villagers loved hearing the story almost as much as Asianna and Torhte loved telling it. 

Thorn felt Torhte jerk the end of a rope that he held in his hand. The rope burned the tender skin around her neck since her neck was on the other end of the rope that Torhte held. Torhte jerked the rope again, almost causing Thorn to stumble to the ground. The villagers laughed unkindly as they watched her ordeal.

But Thorn didn't hear it. And she didn't feel an egg getting thrown at her head. And she didn't feel the egg yolk slide down her brown hair.

She was far beyond bodily pain. Nothing that these people could do and did could hurt her. At least, not as much as Asianna's words had. 

It was like she was separate from herself. It was as if she was some spirit floating around and watching the cruel villagers pelt the silent girl with unwanted food. 

Occasionally, she did feel pain. But she did not try to resist. Did not try to use her powers to escape.

_I deserve this_, she thought to herself. _I deserve everything that these people throw at me. I'm a horrible sister, a horrible person_. 

And so, she stood as straight as she could. And took it all. 

Because it didn't matter. It didn't matter what happened to her now. 

And she no longer cared anyway.

She felt the rope that Torhte had tied around her neck tense, and she glanced up.

The crowds of villagers had suddenly increased. Where had all these new villagers come from? She asked herself, confused.

No, she thought to herself as a glint of silver caught her eye. These weren't villagers. These were…knights and Riders?

"What are they doing here?" she murmured dazedly to herself.

Asianna turned to scowl at Thorn. "Be quiet." she ordered. 

Thorn turned slowly back to return Asianna's cold gaze. And when Asianna gave her a hateful look before turning away, Thorn turned her gaze to the dirt. 

"Well, what goes here?" Thorn heard a female voice say from far away.

Thorn turned herself away from the conversation, shutting everything out, and closed her eyes. She barely heard Torhte mumble some words of explanation. 

_It was always you, Thorn. You were always the smarter one. The better one. The one with the special gift. The one that everyone wanted! I was always the victim, the back up, the emergency fill in. I was the one hiding in the background! People only cared about you! You were always more important_!

Asianna's words rang repeatedly in her head. Special gift? Why, there were times that she hated her supposed gift. Hadn't it gotten them into this position? Why couldn't she have been normal? There were days when Thorn wished she was as insignificant as the dirt that she stood on. Today was one of those days.

She glanced up to gaze at her sister for a moment. She stood tall and firm, no longer wearing a cloak to hide her rounded form. Staring at Asianna right now, it would have been difficult to think that it was possible for people to shove her to the background. 

But that's what she had said. She had been forced to stay in the background while Thorn had been in the 'spotlight'. And what a bitter place that had turned out to be.

Torhte suddenly gave the rope a rough jerk and Thorn was pulled to her knees because of the unexpectedness of it. Her neck felt sore where the rope rubbed against it and her egg laden hair stuck to her cheek. As Thorn exhaustedly got back on to her feet, she heard someone speak.

"You didn't actually think that we wouldn't recognize you, did you Torhte? You didn't actually think that your plan of selling Thorn for the money would succeed, did you?"

"Stand back." Thorn heard Asianna order. "We have men waiting in the edge of the forest. They will attack if we give them a signal to."

Someone laughed. "We've already checked the woods. There is nobody there."

"Stand back." Torhte said. "This will be your last warning."

"And once again, we tell you that there are no men waiting in the woods."

There seemed to be a moment of pause. Then utter chaos broke loose.

"Arrows!" Someone shouted. "Run!"

Villagers screamed and ran. People pushed her roughly aside in their hurry for cover. 

Thorn glanced up toward the sky and stared at the flying arrows which came from the direction of the forest. She stared at them with unexplainable fascination. The screams of villagers faded away, so did the rough voices of knights giving orders. She didn't even feel the rope around her neck go slack as Torhte released her to run.

_Well, I've been hit on the head with a rock and squashed by the body of a horse. I wonder what it'll be like to be pierced by an arrow_, she thought dreamily to herself.

"No! Thorn!"

Thorn's reverie was broken as she found herself tackled to the ground. 

"Evin! What in the name of the Goddess!" A frustrated voice protested.

It took awhile for Thorn to realize that Evin's body lay over hers, shielding her from arrows. But then around them, a sparkling purple dome appeared. 

Thorn watched, enthralled, as arrows fell against the dome which sparkled around her and Evin and then merely bounced off. 

It seemed as if the arrows would fall forever, but then they finally stopped and the amethyst dome faded away. As Evin pulled himself away from her, she gaze up in confusion.

"Evin?" Her voice seemed rusty from disuse. "What are you doing here?" she asked, still a bit unfocused.

Evin let himself smile but then frowned anxiously. "I'm here to rescue you, of course."

Her eyes widened as the world slowly shone with crystal clarity around her. Then she suddenly burst into mad laughter.

"Thorn?" Evin asked slowly with concern.

"Funny." Thorn gasped out. "That's exactly what I said to my sister…before she hit me over the head with a rock."

Thorn suddenly found that streams of tears were running down her face. She glared at Evin, uncontrollably angry.

"Why did you do that, Evin? Why did you save me! Why didn't you just let me die!"

She saw Evin wince, and in that moment realized that she had been pounding her fists into his chest. She pulled her hands away, still sobbing. 

"Why didn't you just let me die! Why didn't you just --" she buried her face in her hands when she found that her voice shook too much for her to speak clearly. She suddenly realized that she was sobbing like a child in the middle of the village, and that everyone was staring at her. And she just ended up sobbing even harder than before whenever she tried to stop the tears.

"Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods." she was murmuring as she let Evin pull her into his arms. But then she pulled away, noticing that the food on her was starting to get all over him. 

"You don't want to hold me." She mumbled as soon as she got her tears down to a more controllable level. "I'm absolutely filthy." She hiccupped. 

Evin ignored her protests as he picked her up from the ground and cradled her in his arms. "I'd want to hold you even if you were covered in the most disgusting pig slop that we could find." he said to her quietly. 

Thorn closed her eyes, too tired to protest any more, and buried her head against her chest, not wanting to see the watchers stare at her.

Evin stared down at Thorn's dirt-smudged face, wondering what he should do. There was work to be done in the village. The village would have to be cleaned up, the villagers consoled, the forest around the village investigated again.

He stared gently down into Thorn's face. "Thorn?"

But Thorn didn't reply. She had fallen asleep.


	16. The Dream

****

16. The Dream

The young girl with long brown hair and full, plump cheeks cowered in the corner. The other girl who was if anything, smaller than the other, stood in front her protectively. 

"Where's the damn food!" One of the few bowls they had left shattered on the floor. "Where's my damn dinner!" The man croaked out, almost overturning the small table that he was using to keep his balance. One of his bare feet stepped onto several sharp pieces of broken bowl and the man howled in pain. "Which one of you idiots dropped the damn bowl!"

"There is no food and there is no dinner. And you were the one who dropped the dish." The smaller girl said. "You're drunk."

"Shut up!" Another one of the last few dishes crashed into the wall beside the girls. The girl who cowered behind the other screamed. 

The man staggered up to the girl who had spoken. "Don't you dare patronize me, girl." He said, grabbing a handful of her hair for emphasis. 

The girl's eyes watered from the horrible stench of the man's drunken breath. "Fine then. You _aren't_ drunk." she said, her little voice still full of disgust.

The man shoved the twelve year old girl to the side by her hair. "Don't talk to me that way! Don't you dare talk to me that way!"

"You're not drunk, you're not drunk, you're not drunk!" The little girl yelled at the man.

The man roared with anger. "Why, you little--"

The girl scrambled to her feet and ducked past her father, reaching the other girl who still cried and cowered in the corner. "Come on, Asianna." She said as she pulled the other girl up to her feet.

"And grow me some dinner while you're out there with the gift your witch of a mother left you!" The man hollered at the girls as they rushed out the door.

The smaller girl pulled the other girl into a protective hug as soon as they were a good distance away from the house. "Hush, Asianna. Don't cry. Don't cry."

"Delora, why is father so mean to us? Why does he hate us?"

"He doesn't hate us, Asianna. He was just drunk." She said soothingly.

"Well, why does he have to be drunk all the time?"

"I don't know. I don't know." 

The two girls sat huddled together under the protection of a great tree whose branches were bent down to cover them from prying eyes.

~~~~~

_Take this, Delora. Take this_. 

She blinked. _Mother?_ She found herself in a misty fog. _Mother, is that you?_

_Yes, Delora. It's me._ The voice said. 

She frowned. _But where are you? I can't see you, Mother._

_There is no time to worry about that now, Delora. Quickly, take this_. 

Then she was struck with a sudden thought. _Mother, aren't you supposed to be….dead?_

The voice sighed. _Yes, love. I am dead._

But then-

Delora! I wish there was time for us to talk, but there is not. Now please listen to me.

Something suddenly appeared in the fog. Long, thick stick with a rose stem circling it.

_Take this, Delora. A gift from your Mother. Keep it with you always, and it'll protect you._

She blinked with confusion. _A stick is going to protect me? _

It is called a staff. Take it.

She took the staff, not even thinking twice about the deadly looking thorns. Things like that had never bothered her. _But mother--_

I'm sorry, Delora. There is simply no time. Go now. The voice started to fade away.

_Go? No, I don't want to go! _She protested immediately.

_Go, Delora. Go with my love…_

_No! Mother!_ But she was already gone.

"Delora! Delora! Wake up!" A trembling voice was screaming in her ear.

"I'm awake, I'm awake!" She glanced up to see Asianna's teary face looking down at her.

Asianna sat back with a shaky sigh. "Gods, Delora. I thought you were _dead_. I called you and called you and you wouldn't wake up."

She shook her head. "No, no more tears yet, Asianna. I'm not dead yet."

But Asianna continued to look at her fearfully.

"What?" She finally asked, perplexed.

Asianna's gaze lowered. "Where did you get that, Delora?"

She glanced down to see what Asianna was gazing at. And then flinched. She reached out with a finger to trace the pattern of the rose stem around the staff. "I don't know, Asianna. I don't know."

~~~~~

The smell of burnt wood was everywhere. Delora and Asianna quickly ran through the woods and back to the shack they called home, fearful of what they might find.

"There! There she is! She's the one!" Her father said, pointing at Delora as she and Asianna came running into view.

They stopped running, but it was too late. They were surrounded by strange, unknown men. 

"Delora." Asianna said fearfully as she reached for Delora's hand.

One of the men who formed the circle around the girls bent down until he was face to face with Delora. He stared at her, with his shrewd black eyes. 

Delora stared back, refusing to let him intimidate her. Asianna held on to her hand so hard that her grip almost hurt.

Then suddenly, the man reached forward with a dirty finger and jabbed Delora in the chest.

Both of the girls nearly stumbled to the ground because of the suddenness of it, and the men who were around them, including their father, laughed aloud. 

Then the man stood back up and stared at her father. "She can grow plants at will?"

Her father nodded. "Yes." It was the first time Delora had ever heard him sound proud of her. 

The man turned back to stare at her again. Then his gaze turned to the object she held in one of her hands. His eyes narrowed.

"Is that a staff you hold?" he asked.

The grip she held around her staff tightened. "Yes."

"Interesting." he said. "And those are…thorns that surround it?" His gaze lowered to the grip she had around her staff. He absorbed the fact that the thorns were not hurting her. His gaze was thoughtful.

Then he suddenly stood, turning back to her father again. "I'll take her."

Her father suddenly sprang forward and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her away from the men and from the frightened Asianna. "You can't take her without striking a bargain with me first."

"I don't think you understand, foolish man." The strange man suddenly motioned to the others, and then the clearing was full of the sound of swords being drawn. "You give her to us willingly, or we take her after you are dead." He crossed his arms over his chest and gave her father an arrogant look. "Which is it?"

Her father opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a sudden cry.

"No! Delora!" Asianna suddenly pushed past several men in her hurry to get to her.

"Hey! Watch it you little brat!" One of the armed men started to reach for Asianna.

"Asianna, no stop!" Delora pulled herself away from her father and swung her staff with strength that she didn't know she had. 

The armed man let out a grunt of pain and stepped back from Asianna. He glanced down in surprise at his bloody arm. Delora quickly stepped in front of Asianna and glared at the men. The armed man glanced down at her, obviously angry. She cringed but refused to back down.

"Stop." 

Delora suddenly glanced up at the man who had said he would 'take her'. He motioned the angry armed man away and stared down at her again. He then reached out a hand as if to grab Asianna and Delora slapped the hand away. He stared at her contemplatively again. Then he laughed.

He actually laughed. 

He turned back to her father. "I'll take them both."

~~~~~~~

The ride away from her home and into the forest seemed to past in a blur. She suddenly found herself roughly placed onto the ground by the man who had taken them away, the man called Torhte. 

She gripped her staff with tense fingers and glanced around frantically. Where was Asianna?

Torhte seemed amused by her anxiety. He motioned to somewhere behind her. "Your sister is over there."

Delora turned to watch as another man lowered Asianna from the horse after getting off himself first. But instead of placing her on the ground and bringing her over, he suddenly heaved her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Wait, Asianna? Asianna!" She was getting more and more frantic with each step the man took away from her. "Asianna!" She started to rush forward, but Torhte grabbed her arm.

"Where is he taking her!" she demanded hotly to Torhte. 

Torhte smiled. "You and your sister belong to me now. You will do whatever I say you have to do."

She shook her head. "No. No."

The grip Torhte had around her arm got tighter. "If you do not obey…we will hurt your sister."

And then, as if on cue, Asianna began to scream. "No! Where are you taking me! Delora!"

Delora frantically tried to break Torhte's grip, but he was too strong. "No! Stop it! Let go of me!"

"You will obey me. Unless you want us to hurt Asianna."

She beat at the hand around her arm uselessly. "No!"

Torhte started to laugh again.

And Asianna continued to scream.

"Deeeeeelooooooraaaaa!!"

~~~~~

Thorn sat up and suddenly found that she was laying in a pallet. A cup of cool water was placed into her hands. She almost dropped it; she was trembling so badly. She hadn't had a dream like that in a long time. 

"Bad dream?" Evin asked her sympathetically.

She stared at him; the world around her still a bit fuzzy.

"Bad life." she said after a moment.

"It can't be that bad." 

"Oh yes, it can." She paused, glancing down at herself, and realized that she no longer had a god awful stench of rotten food. "I'm clean?"

"Yes. You're clean."

He gently took the cup of shaking water away from her. "The woman who was with Torhte when they tried to turn you, that was your sister wasn't it?" he asked her quietly. 

She suddenly glanced up. "My staff. Where is my staff?" She started to pull herself off the pallet.

Evin gently pushed her back into it. "It's right here. Beside you."

She glanced at the ground beside her and saw that it was indeed there. She settled back with a sigh of relief. 

There was a short silence in which Evin stretched before pulling a stool over beside her pallet and sitting down. He gazed down at her patiently, waiting for her to speak.

"Yes." she finally said. "That woman was Asianna. My sister." Thorn pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. 

Evin hesitated for a moment, and then placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

She glanced into his big blue eyes. Looked at his concerned face. Tried to give him a brave smile. "Yeah. Me too." she said. "Me too."


	17. The Apology and Thanks

****

17. The Apology and Thanks 

Evin watched Alanna as she examined the ground of the forest that surrounded the village. The knights and Riders were prepared to leave for Corus, but Evin had decided to hang back to check the forest one last time. Evin fiddled with an arrow he had found embedded in a tree while he waited. 

Alanna finally got to her feet and shook her head grimly. "If this was someone with the gift, then it is someone who is powerful enough to hide their magic from me."

Evin watched Alanna's face carefully. "But you don't think that someone with the gift caused this." He guessed.

Alanna gave him a bleak smile. "No. Because if they had someone with a gift that was _that_ powerful…"

"They would have used the mage during their raids, just as they used Thorn." Evin finished gravely.

She nodded.

"But there were no tracks here. No footprints. No signs of anyone wandering through here." Evin said with frustration. "The Riders and I checked this area quite thoroughly. There were _no_ bandits here waiting for us during the attack." Evin snapped the arrow he held in hands in half angrily. 

"Do you think that it was her then? You think that it was just a trap?" Alanna asked quietly.

"No. Thorn is a good actor, but not that good. She wasn't faking that scene back in the village." he refuted. He let the arrow pieces drop to the ground.

"But if there were no bandits here waiting to attack us after seeing a signal, like Torhte and Asianna said, and there is no mage who is powerful enough…than who sent those arrows flying into the village?"

~~~~~~

"Tell me about your past, Thorn. The past you had before you ended up with the bandits." Alanna asked her curiously.

The company of knights and Riders had decided to stop for rest and lunch. Evin had suggested that he, Thorn, Brecc, Miri, and Alanna should go on a picnic.

"Well, there's isn't that much to tell." Thorn said slowly. "My father was the town drunk. My mother died when I was a little over five and Asianna only four. I don't remember much of her." Except when I dream of her, she thought silently to herself. 

"Did you inherit your power from your mother then?" Miri asked.

"I suppose so. I'm not completely sure. However, my father always did refer to my mother as 'that strange witch'." Thorn's gaze fell to where her staff lay on the blanket beside her.

"That must have been very hard on you, to live a life like that." Miri shook her head. "I can't imagine myself living a past like that."

Thorn just shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I've gotten used to it. I haven't got anything to compare it to anyway."

Evin smoothly chose to change the subject right then, and he and Brecc started to banter with one another, bringing smiles to the others faces. And when it was time to set off again, Thorn was surprised to find that she had enjoyed the brief picnic.

"Lady Alanna." Thorn quickly stopped the knight before she was able to leave.

"Yes?"

"I--I just wanted to apologize. About what happened. At Pirate's Swoop." Thorn said haltingly. "About the roses and all."

Alanna smiled a rueful smile. "Not to worry. We were more surprised by it than anything else."

Thorn shook her head. "I shouldn't have done it. I was just…desperate to get to my sister." Thorn's voice faded into silence.

Alanna gave her a reassuring pat. "I completely understand. Don't worry." She turned to leave.

"Lady Alanna?"

She turned back to Thorn again.

"Do you think the king is …horribly angry at me for what I said?" Thorn asked hesitantly. It wasn't that she regretted angering him, it was just the fact that he was king and all…

The knight laughed. "Don't worry about Jon. Thayet and I got into him real good about losing his temper." She shook her head. "And they say that _I _have a horrible temper."

Thorn must have still looked a bit uncertain, because the knight came over to give her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. "Stop worrying. I'm sure that once you get to have a good talk with Jon, you'll both have better understandings of each other. He will be more understanding, Thorn. Don't worry. At least, just as long as you don't run off to the bandits again." Alanna gave her a wink. 

"I also wanted to thank you. That was your shield that kept the arrows away when we were back at the village, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was my protective shield. But you don't have to thank me." Alanna gave her an apologetic smile. "Let me be honest with you. Looking back at it in hindsight, I'm glad I was able to protect you, but at that moment, the only reason I made that shield was to protect Evin. If it was just you who had stood in the village center, I am not completely sure that I would have constructed my shield to protect you." Alanna glanced at her uncertainly. "I'm sorry, but --"

"There's no need to apologize, Lady Alanna." Thorn gave her a small, sad smile. "Besides. I wasn't thanking you for saving my life." Thorn said quietly. "I was thanking you for saving Evin's."

Alanna seemed to start in surprise at Thorn's words. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and then she gave Thorn an appraising look. Then she smiled. "Your welcome."

Thorn stood, watching the knight walk away. She felt more than saw Evin come to stand beside her. 

"Alanna isn't the only person who deserves an apology. And a thanks." Thorn said quietly before turning to face Evin.

"Oh?" he said lightly.

She glanced at him nervously. "Thank you for protecting me, Evin. I probably would have died if you hadn't." She stared down at her hands and suddenly realized that her fingers were trembling. 

She took a breath. "I'm sorry for what I said to you before. Back at Pirate's Swoop. I shouldn't have said those things. I shouldn't have taken my anger of the situation out on you. I'm sorry."

He put a finger to her chin and lifted her face until she was gazing into his serious blue eyes. "Never apologize for saying the truth."

She blinked. "What?"

He gave her a tired smile that was not at all like his usual roguish one. "The words…they were the truth, were they not?" he said. "You didn't feed me because you wanted to help me, you fed me because you wanted to arouse Torhte's anger."

"Evin--" she started to say.

Evin placed his fingers over her lips. "Truth, Thorn. Truth."

She stared at him. "All right, Evin. What I said was true, but I shouldn't have used the words to hurt you--"

"Shh, Thorn. No more words are necessary." He then leaned down and placed the softest of kisses on her lips.


	18. The 'Talk'

To keep the confusion down to a minimum, I will tell everyone right now, that this chapter is told from _Miri_'s point of view. Not Thorn's.

~Krizsta

****

18. The "Talk"

Miri felt panicked.

The company had just arrived at the palace in Corus and everyone was now settling back down. 

During the rest of the ride here, Miri had ridden on her pony beside Brecc and behind Evin and Thorn. Evin made the otherwise dull ride very enjoyable with his jokes and teasing, and Thorn had been able to lighten up and laugh a few times.

And each time Thorn had laughed at Evin's jokes, Miri had felt a jolt of heartache in her chest.

Miri loved Evin, had always loved him. Since the day she had met him during Rider training several years ago. 

Evin, with his bright blond hair, heart-warming grin, and mischievous sense of humor, had always been quite the lady's man. All the ladies had to do was look into his blue eyes and wonderful smile and then they'd fall victim to his never-failing charm. 

Evin usually liked pretty court ladies who always wore beautiful dresses and always had the perfect hair. But then, once he got into a specific lady's company and he got to know her better, he became bored of her and looked around for a new pretty face. Affairs like those never lasted more than two weeks.

Evin needed a person who was dependable, someone who had more than just air between her ears. Someone whom he could love and could have a good time with. Someone who depended on more than just her looks to get the things she wanted. Miri had always thought that Evin would someday come to his senses and appreciate her for more than her friendship. 

But then he met Thorn.

It wasn't that Miri didn't like Thorn, because she did. And that actually made it worse, because Miri still felt indebted to Thorn for what she did when she was first captured.

But…

Miri had noticed how Evin was always watching Thorn. How he always tried to be by her side so that at any moment, when Thorn needed help, he was there. How he always gauging her facial expression and cheering her up when she seemed depressed. And Miri had seen him kiss her after the picnic.

And it had hurt. 

What was it about Thorn that made him act differently with her than with the others? Thorn wasn't pretty. All right, she was. But she wasn't as pretty as Daine. She wasn't as beautiful as Queen Thayet. And she wasn't as eye-catching as Alanna the Lady Knight. 

And yet…

There was something about her. With the other three women, there was a chance that a stranger could just pass over them as pretty faces. But not with Thorn's. There was something about Thorn that made you stop and wonder. Something that made Thorn's doe-like eyes and soft mouth seem sad even when she was smiling. Even when she was laughing, that far away look of sadness never fully left her eyes. It made you stop and want to ask what was the matter. 

Not to mention that beneath that deceivingly quiet exterior there was a whip-like temper that could spit out insults stinging enough to make you flinch. 

But why did Evin treat her so differently? 

"If you think any harder, your brain will melt and flow out of your ears." A pleasant voice said.

Miri jumped with surprise. "What?"

Brecc grinned at her. "Have you had lunch yet?"

She shook her head. "No, I haven't." she said distractedly.

"Well, would you--"

Miri spotted someone across the courtyard. "Oh, wait. Hold on, Brecc, I'll be right back." she said breathlessly, hurrying over to the other side of the courtyard.

"Evin?"

Evin turned around and smiled at her. He stopped whistling, but continued to leisurely toss and catch a bright red apple with one hand. "Miri?"

She stepped closer to him uncertainly. "I just--just wanted to talk to you for a second."

"About what?" he asked curiously.

_Just say it, Miri, you idiot. Just say it before it's too late,_ she told herself.

"What?" Evin raised an eyebrow at her.

She flushed. "I--I just wanted to give you something." she said nervously.

"Wha--"

Evin wasn't able to finish his word because Miri suddenly sprang forward, wrapped her arms around his neck, and then gave him a thorough kiss.

And nobody noticed the bright red apple that slipped through Evin's surprised fingers and dropped to the ground.

****

A.N. - hi everyone. I just wanted to take a moment to say: my worst fears came true. I will not be able to keep up with my daily updating (if I do, it's because of some miracle). School is the main culprit for the situtation. However, I will do my best to update by every other day. I think I'll be able to manage that. Well, that's it. Sorry if you're disappointed by the situation. Good thing that this is my senior year (I could slack more during second semester).

I hoped people thought chapter 18 was okay (can you believe it? I only have a few more chapters to post up). I was a little saddened by it, since I do like Miri. Hmmm…

~Krizsta


	19. The Hurt

****

19. The Hurt

The sun was warm and relaxing on her shoulders. Trees nearby shook their leaves at her in agreement. She smiled, oddly happy.

She suddenly turned the corner and spotted Brecc, seemingly standing in the middle of nowhere and staring off into the distance. 

"Brecc?" she called to him uncertainly.

Brecc jerked in surprise and then turned around to glance at her. "Yes?" He ran a distracted hand through his hair and then turned back to glance into the distance again.

She strode around him until she stood before him. "Brecc? Is something wrong?" she asked tentatively. She fiddled absently with a thorn on her staff.

"Wrong? No, why would anything be wrong?" But Brecc still didn't look down at her. 

"Brecc?" She glanced up at him, perplexed. What was wrong with him? As she watched, he suddenly became tense, and she heard his breath catch in his throat. "Brecc?" she said again. She glanced over her shoulder, wondering what it was that had captivated Brecc.

And then she saw them.

She didn't even realize that she had stalked over to them until she was merely feet from the couple. Brecc finally noticed her, and tried to keep her back. "What is going on here?" she demanded incredulously.

Miri and Evin jumped away from one another. 

"Thorn!" Miri gasped, cheeks flushing a bright red.

But Thorn wasn't glancing at Miri. And saying that she was glancing at Evin wouldn't exactly be true either. She wasn't just glancing at Evin; she was glaring at him.

Evin opened his mouth as if to speak, but not words came out.

She stared at him, still half in disbelief. Great emotion coursed through her body. She wanted to scream. She wanted to hurt somebody. She wanted to cry.

Evin seemed to realize this and his eyes widened. "Thorn…" he said as he started to reach for her. 

Thorn jerked away from him, nearly knocking down Brecc, who had come to stand behind her. 

Brecc was staring over Thorn's shoulder at Miri. There was such a look of hurt and pain on his face that Thorn immediately felt sympathetic. She wasn't the only hurting here.

_Poor Brecc_, she thought. _He's in love with her…_

She suddenly reached up and placed her hand on Brecc's cheek. He looked down at her in surprise. In that moment, their gazes met, and a look of complete understanding passed between the two. They understood each other's pain. She gave him a wobbly smile before turning away.

She glared at both Evin and Miri this time. Then she shrugged. "Let's go, Brecc." she put a hand on Brecc's arm and started leading him away.

"Wait." Evin's arm came down on her shoulder and he stepped in front of her.

She tossed him an annoyed look. "What." she said flatly. 

He raked a hand through his blonde hair. "That wasn't what it seemed like."

"Sure it wasn't." she said skeptically.

"It wasn't." he said firmly. "I was standing around, waiting for you when--"

Thorn just laughed. "Right. You were just standing around when she ran up and kissed you?"

He flinched. "As a matter of fact--"

"Evin, just stop." she interrupted again. "I don't want to hear any excuses. If you wanted to be with Miri, you should have told me out flat." She felt like a fool for being misled.

"I don't want to be with Miri." he replied tersely. "I want to be with you."

"You sure have a strange way of showing that." she said.

"I already told you, that wasn't what it seemed. I didn't initiate that--"

"And I already told you! I don't want to hear any excuses!"

"Thorn, please don't do this." he said in a low voice. "Don't make this mistake."

Her temper flashed. "Who says this is a mistake?" she challenged.

"You should at least hear me out." He was also starting to get angry.

"But I don't want to hear it." 

"Thorn--"

"It doesn't matter, Evin. It doesn't matter." she said as she shook her head.

"Of course it matters." he said in frustration.

"It doesn't. Because, I realize now, that I can't care less about who you want to be with." She glanced up at him so that she could stare at him in the eye. "You can kiss whoever you want. I don't care. You don't mean as much to me as I thought." She gave a careless shrug.

For a moment, he looked so lost and confused that she wanted to reach out and comfort him. But she restrained herself. He had hurt her, and she had learned her lesson. 

"You can kiss whoever you want, Evin. Don't worry about me." she said unfeelingly.

Miri suddenly stepped up. Thorn had practically forgotten that she was there. "Thorn, I--"

"I said I didn't want to hear excuses." she snapped.

Miri took a step back, as if afraid that Thorn would suddenly react to her violently. She had a distressed look on her face. Thorn immediately felt bad for her.

Miri glanced around at everyone's somber faces. She stopped at Evin's. Then she mumbled something beneath her breath and then literally ran away.

Brecc took a step forward as if to run after her, but then came to an abrupt stop. "What did she say?" he asked Evin quietly.

Evin glanced at Brecc distractedly. "She said, 'I'm sorry.'"

~~~~~~~~

Evin watched as Thorn led Brecc away from him. He clenched his fists in anger and frustration. 

He wanted to blame Miri, but couldn't find it in himself to. He had known her too long for him to be so suddenly angry with her. Besides, he had always had an inkling that Miri had liked him for more than a friend. He hadn't been sure, but he had had an inkling. He should have cleared that up with her. Damn.

__

You can kiss whoever you want. I don't care. You don't mean as much to me as I thought

When she had said that, it had felt as if someone had wrapped their hand around his heart and squeezed. If she had been angry because of jealously, he would have been less hurt and worried. Because he could work with jealously. He could work with that, eventually get her to forgive him. Because even with her jealously, he would have known that she still cared. As long as she still cared, he could, sooner or later, get her to forgive him. But how could he work with the fact that she no longer cared about him? Sure, he could get her forgiveness, but if she didn't care about him any longer, why did it matter? 

And that in itself was strange too. Because it did matter. She mattered. She was unlike any other woman he had ever known. At first he had thought it was a silly infatuation. He had thought that it was the thrill of the chase that made him want her. He had assumed that, once he had finally gotten her, he would have gotten bored. 

How wrong he was.

She had been his for the last several days. And strangely enough, he wanted it to stay that way.

He stared down at the ground and suddenly spotted the red apple that he had been about to eat before Miri had called to him. He didn't remember dropping it, but he must have dropped it when Miri had kissed him.

As he stared at the red apple, he was suddenly struck with a sudden thought and he cursed himself for his stupidity.

He straightened and pulled something out of his sleeve. A crystal. That at the moment, was shining a dark, dark black color. When he saw the color, he breathed a sigh of relief.

It was his truth crystal. He had gotten it awhile ago at a pricey amount. But at the moment, he was glad he had it. Because when someone lied in its presence, its color changed from clear to a shadowy black. The black that it was glowing right now. 

****

A.N. - well, there's chapter 19. And on a sidenote, I did not make up Evin's crystal. The crystal came from Tamora Pierce's imagination, not mine. Toward the beginning of Kel's 3rd book Squire, there is a segment where someone is being questioned. Evin is there, and after the questioning is done, he pulls out the crystal. He explains how useful it is to have around, even though he had to pay a great amount for it. the others teased him about how he only bought it so that he would know whether the ladies he courted were married or not.   
~Krizsta

P.S. - to the reviewer who asked about Thorn's name: the name thing will be mentioned in a later chapter. It is a good question tho, one I would have asked if I was a reviewer for my story. However, I don't want to really mention it now and then end up being repetitive about it later. 


	20. The Offer

****

20. The Offer

It was almost a week after the confrontation. She was finishing breakfast in her room when there was a knock on the door.

"It's me." Brecc said without the need for Thorn to ask who it was first.

Thorn got to her feet and opened the door. "Good morning." she started to say when she saw Brecc's grim face. "What's wrong?" she asked, immediately tense.

Brecc and Thorn had become close friends during the last few days. When Brecc wasn't busy with a Rider's work, he spent his time with her. They related to each other's pain and were comforted by the thought that neither was alone. Thorn had come to see him as a brother. His witty sense of humor gave her something to laugh about even when laughing was the last thing from her mind.

However, at the moment Brecc's mouth was set into a firm line. 

"A village about a day's ride from here was raided the night before last night." he said quietly.

Thorn tensed, both hands gripping her staff hard. "By who?"

"Bandits."

::If you squeeze me any harder, I'll be pressed into pulp.:: her staff observed.

Thorn relaxed her hold. "Any bandits we know?" she asked huskily.

"The Bloody Thorns."

Thorn closed her eyes. She had hoped that it was over. The bandits were down about half in number since the time she was captured, and Torhte and Asianna had almost gotten themselves captured. But apparently, it wasn't enough for them.

"Two Rider groups who were patrolling nearby were sent to take care of the business." Brecc said. "It has been about a day since they were sent, and since then, we have not heard a word from them. Or even seen them."

Two whole Rider groups? How had Torhte and Asianna managed that? Without even one Rider escaping?

"What is the king going to do?" The king. Another person that Thorn had been avoiding since she had gotten to Corus. 

Brecc shook his head. "Doesn't know yet. They think that the bandits are holed up in the forest somewhere. We just don't know where. Or how many. And if any of the Riders are still alive. If they are alive," Brecc said grimly, "they'll probably be used as hostages."

"Not a good situation." Thorn observed.

And from somewhere in the deep recesses of Thorn's mind, she heard her staff's old words. _Oh, Thorn. With so much power but so little thought on how to use it…_

"That's it!" she exclaimed. 

Brecc raised an eyebrow. "What's it?"

She grabbed at his arm and started pulling him out the door. "Where's Alanna?"

He blinked. "Alanna? Why?"

"Because I could help." she said excitedly. "I could find the bandits."

His eyes widened. "Well why didn't you say that before?" he asked. "Come on." This time it was he who was leading. Then he suddenly stopped in his tracks. "I don't know where Alanna is."

Thorn frowned. "Well, all right. How about the king?" she asked hesitantly.

"Don't know where he is either." 

"The queen?" she asked hopefully.

Brecc shook his head.

"Numair?"

Brecc continued to shake his head.

"Daine?"

Shake shake. 

"Well, do you know where _anyone_ is?" she finally demanded, exasperated.

He thought about it. "I know where Evin is."

"I don't want to know where Evin is. How about somebody else--"

"You shouldn't be so hard on him, Thorn." he said a bit too seriously.

"Who says I'm too hard on him--"

"I do." He gave her a pointed look. "You should go talk to him. He'll know where the others are." 

She stared at him. He stared back. She finally sighed. "Fine."

He nodded. "Goo--"

"But only if you talk to Miri too." she quickly interjected.

"Miri?" he flushed. "What's Miri got to do with this situation?"

"Well, I'm only going to talk to Evin if you talk to Miri. So I'd say that it's got a lot to do with this situation."

"But--"

"No buts."

"But--"

"No buts." she said again. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a hard look.

"Fine. But you had better talk to Evin."

"Fine."

"I'm going to get you for this." he mumbled under his breath.

She smiled. "No, you're not. You're going to thank me."

He tossed her one last look before telling her where to find Evin. Then they went their separate ways.

~~~~~~~~

She stared nervously at Evin's door for several long moments before getting brave enough to knock. It then took a lot of self-control to keep herself from bolting down the hallway.

"Yes?" A muffled voice questioned.

"Uhm, Evin? It's me. Thorn." 

As the door opened, Thorn caught the end of a disgruntled sentence: "supposed to be no interruptions."

Someone just laughed in response.

Thorn glanced into the room and blinked in surprise. There, gathered around a table was the king, the queen, Alanna, Daine, and Numair. Evin stood by the door, glancing down at her.

"Yes?" he asked.

She stood in the doorway like a dumbstruck idiot, not sure what to say.

Alanna stood and rescued her. "Thorn! Good morning. Don't mind us, we were just having a little meeting." Alanna led her into the room. "Was there a specific reason you knocked on Evin's door?" She glanced mischievously from Evin to her. 

Evin smiled amusedly as Thorn flushed. 

"Oh, Thorn, did you forget that I told you that we couldn't have our daily tryst until after lunch?" he teased.

"No, I don't remember such a thing, Evin. You must have been telling that to someone else." she said sweetly. 

The others laughed and Thorn felt a bit more comfortable. She glanced down at the table that the others had been gathered around. "You are discussing what to do with the bandits?" she asked bluntly.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid this meeting was supposed to be private." The king said to her gently.

She stared at him in surprise. Had he just said the words 'I'm sorry?' or was she just going crazy.

Alanna gave Thorn an apologetic smile. "Jon's right, Thorn. This meeting is supposed to be confidential."

"Do you always hold confidential meetings in Evin's room?" she asked skeptically.

"Actually," Numair said with a frown, "we came in here because we kept on getting interrupted elsewhere."

"Wait." Thorn protested. "I didn't come in here to talk to Evin." Sorry, Brecc, she thought to herself. "I came in here to talk to you." she said, motioning to the others.

Daine frowned. "You knew we would be in here?"

"No. I was just going to ask Evin--Nevermind. It's a long story." she said, shaking her head. "The point is, I can help you."

There was a short silence. "Thorn, we understand that your magic is very powerful, but we are not here to discuss the strategy of our attack. We are here to discuss whether or not we will be able to attack." The king said politely.

She blinked at the king, slowly comprehending what the king had said. "I didn't come here to offer myself as a weapon to you." she said coldly. Sure, she had wanted to help with her gift, but not in that way. She didn't want to become a weapon again. Not like she had with bandits. Not again.

Evin started to come toward her, as if sensing her anger. Her glare stopped him in his tracks.

She turned on her heel and started for the door. At the last moment she glanced over her shoulder at the others. "I came to offer myself as a guide and I would have helped you find the bandits." she shrugged. "But since you don't seem to want me around…" She shut the door. And then waited.

She heard several scrambling movements of people getting up from their seats. She heard Alanna curse Jon for his thick-headedness. She smiled.

Then the door opened and Queen Thayet looked out and glanced at her. "Thorn, I hope it's not too late to ask, but can you help us?"

****

A.N.: Some clarification on the name thing: No, Big Blue, you did not mess up and mix the conversers around. Asianna _did_ call Thorn Delora in the chapter of the dream. But that will be explained later (and hopefully I won't somehow forget and leave it out of the story, I seem to be doing that a lot lately). And my apologies to those who were afraid of this fic turning into a soap opera (a friend personally pointed that out to me), that was _not_ my intention. Not that I know what soap operas are really like since I don't really watch them, but I will try to keep the ..err…love triangles to a minimum. And what else…uhm…oh yeah, everyone's been commenting on how sad the past couple chapters have been. I'll have to make sure the next couple ones are…happier. And nope, rosefyre, I didn't make a thing up about the crystal (well actually, maybe its name 'truth crystal' but only because I didn't remember if TP had given it an actual name). When a lie is told, it turns from white to black; and if its only a little lie, it turns gray. What a nice thingy to have around…

Thanks for reviewing!

~Krizsta

P.S. - Mione Potter: a fan club really? *laughs* thanks!


	21. The Left Behind

****

21. **The Left Behind**

"Why don't you come to the back of the column now?"

Thorn glanced at Evin tiredly. "What?"

Evin motioned to the forest. "Can you smell it? Smoke from campfires?"

Thorn turned away and just continued to doze. "Okay." 

"We know where they are now. You don't need to lead us any longer." Evin said.

"Okay."

"Thorn? Are you all right?"

"O….kay." she slowly said in return.

"Thorn?"

"O….--"

He caught her just as she was slipping off her saddle. 

"Thorn." He sighed as he pulled her in front of his own saddle.

Thorn felt the warmth of his body seep through their clothes and into her; she jerked wide awake.

"What are you doing." she demanded in a flat voice.

"You were falling out of your saddle."

"That doesn't mean that you have to put me on yours." she retorted, blinking as sleep started taking over again.

"Well, if you prefer to just fall flat on your face…"

She didn't reply.

Alanna rode over beside them. She observed the sleepy Thorn sitting in Evin's arms. "I was wondering when she'd give out." she said, motioning to the girl.

"It's been a long day." Evin agreed.

Alanna gave a rueful smile. "And the fight hasn't even started." There was a short silence. "She's a lot tougher than she looks."

Evin looked down at Thorn. "Yes, she is."

"How is it going between the two of you?" she asked him quietly.

He grimaced. "Not too well."

She gave him an encouraging smile. "Good thing you were always a very persistent lad." She reached out and gripped his arm. "It's not over till it's over."

To Thorn, who continued to doze in the saddle, the conversation seemed to be a million miles away. She heard voices, but her mind was too tired to distinguish the words. 

She suddenly felt Evin pull himself off the horse, pulling her with him. He placed her on a patch of soft green grass, and the grass suddenly grew, as to form a nice soft cushion for Thorn to rest on.

She heard him speak.

"Alanna says to make camp here. We're still a good distance away from them. We'll get them tomorrow, when everyone's fresher."

"O…kay." she said sleepily. She then tried to pull herself up but found that she was just pushed back.

"I need to set up my tent…and things." she protested, eyes still half closed.

"Don't worry about them. I'll do it."

She nodded and laid back down on the cool grass.

"Thanks, Evin." she mumbled, just on the brink of real sleep.

Soft lips brushed against her forehead. "Your very welcome."

~~~~~~~~~

"_What_ do you _mean_ I _can't_ go with everyone else!" 

Evin sighed. He and Brecc had been the lucky chosen ones to tell Thorn that she was not allowed to participate in the bandits' captures.

"Thorn, please--" Brecc pleaded.

"I come all this way, lead you people to them, and you won't even let me…let me _watch_?" Thorn said, outraged.

"You'll be safer here." Evin said.

"Don't even think about deciding what's safe for me or not. I spent seven years of my damn life with those bandits, and you won't even let me watch them getting captured? Much less participate?" she said in irritation.

"We don't want you to be a weapon." Evin said reasonably.

"I won't have to use my magic. I know how to fight." she replied.

"Thorn--"

"But I _want_ to help!" she continued to protest.

This statement made Evin's eyebrow raise. "You? Want to help? Since when have you actually wanted to help?"

_Since I fell in love with you!_ But the words got choked up in her throat. She knew that he was referring to the incident where she had fed him only to make Torhte angry and not because she had wanted to help him. 

"Your being there might influence Torhte or Asianna's reactions. We've all thought this through. Many times. And everyone, including Alanna, has decided that you're better of staying here."

She glared at Evin and crossed her arms angrily across her chest. "Fine."

Brecc breathed an audible sigh of relief, but Evin looked at her suspiciously.

"You will stay here?" he asked.

"Yes." she confirmed.

"And you will stay here until we return?" he continued.

"Yes." she said through clenched teeth.

"And you will not try to--"

"Yes, yes, yes, dammit!" 

Evin nodded. "Good."

::You're really going to stay put while they go off to meet the bandits?:: her staff asked her doubtfully as Evin and Brecc started walking away.

::Are you kidding? There is no way that I'd let them go off without me…::


	22. The 'Battle'

****

22. ** The 'Battle'**

Ninety-eight. Ninetey-nine. One hundred.

"Finally!" she said as she jumped to her feet.

She had just finished counting to one hundred ten times. At first she had just started to count until one thousand, but lost track somewhere around four hundred and thirty. And so she had had to start over, which annoyed her to no end. Counting to one hundred ten times kept the confusion of losing count to a minimum.

"How dare they leave me behind and go off by themselves. After I had actually led them here too." she said with a scowl.

::Indeed, how dare they.:: her staff said to her dryly. ::Mayhap you should go find them and smack them for their impertinence.::

She laughed. ::That would take too long anyway.::

As she neared the site, she heard voices speaking but couldn't make out what they were saying. Which was strange. Didn't men usually roar and stumble around each other like clumsy oxen when they were in the midst of a battle? Since when did a battle consist of cordial conversation?

She decided to climb up a tree to spy on the battle and try to figure out what was going on. 

What she saw made her nearly fall out of the tree in surprise. 

There was a group of a couple dozen people sitting together in a cluster on the dirt floor. Riders, she guessed from their uniforms. And surrounding the cluster of Riders in a full circle were arrows. Arrows that hovered dangerously in the air…by themselves. As if waiting for a command to fly forward and stab a Rider who happened to be in the way. 

_What in the world???_

She blinked, wondering if perhaps she was just seeing things. Since _when did arrows hover in the air as if held by an invisible string_?

But the arrows didn't go away, not matter how many times she blinked.

On one side of the Riders, with still a good several feet between the two, where the company of knights and Riders that Thorn had ridden with. There were also floating arrows suspended in the air in front of them, sometimes wandering too close, as if teasing them.

And on the other side of the captive riders, stood the bandits, weapons out and ready. Torhte and Asianna stood in the front, with a bandit mage that she recognized next to them. Perhaps he was the one controlling the arrows? Which was strange, because she had never known him to have a gift like that before.

"Hold the arrows steady." Torhte commanded to the mage. 

Thorn then realized that there were more piles of wooden arrows laying around beside the bandits. So if the ones that they were using now, were destroyed, they had more.

A squirrel suddenly squeaked at her, angry that she had disturbed its nest.

Thorn let out a surprised gasp, and lost her grip and balance, tumbling out of the tree and right into the midst of the… battle.

_Uh-oh_, she thought to herself as she scrambled to her feet, one hand firmly around her staff. _Why did I have to become a klutz at a moment like this?_

She could have sworn she heard her staff sigh. ::Oh, Thorn.::

She glanced up to see Torhte glancing at her in surprise. Then he gave a sudden, rough laugh. "Thorn." If he had been a woman, she would have said he was purring. "How nice of you to drop in." He laughed again.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." She grumbled as she wiped dirt off her hands. It was a good thing that the tree hadn't been extraordinarily tall, elsewise she would have been real hurt by the fall.

"Taj." Torhte made a sudden movement to the mage.

In the next moment, Thorn found herself looking into the sharp point of an arrow. 

"Make one move, Thorn, and you and your…companions will be used for target practice." Asianna said in a cheerful tone. 

"Really?" She ignored the hurt that her words caused and glanced around. There were about twenty arrows floating around the captive arrows, another twenty in front of the just arrived company, and one in front of her. "You need that much target practice?"

Torhte raised a smug eyebrow. "Would you like a demonstration?"

Lady Alanna immediately protested. "No. There's no need for anymore demonstrations."

Thorn glanced at Alanna, slightly confused. Alanna sounded so…worried. 

Torhte shrugged. "Very well. Let it suffice to say that one of these arrows," the mage made a motion with a hand and an arrow that was laying unused in a pile steadily floated into the air, "can rip through three men's bodies before finally slowing down and actually landing in the fourth."

Was a thing like that even possible? Could arrows move _that_ fast? She stiffened with fear, glaring at the arrow that floated in front of her.

She glanced to the company of knights and Riders, wondering what they were going to do. Everyone had grim, somber looks on their faces. Even Alanna looked slightly overwhelmed by the situation. She glanced at Evin and wondered what he was thinking about. Evin had an expressionless face, but behind the expression, she was able to sense a stubborn determination.

She gave the smallest of smiles, filled with a little determination of her own, now that she had seen his. And yet, at the same time, she was filled with fear.

_Evin. Please be careful._

If she ever got out of this situation alive, she swore…

She had been surprised on the trip through the forest to learn that Evin was the second-in-command to Buri, head commander of the Riders. She had never really thought of him with a title like that. But looking at him right now, she saw that the title made perfect sense. He was a great leader; he had charisma, a sense of humor, and an undying loyalty to those he cared for. All the Riders who worked under his command loved and respected him. Including Miri…

As if feeling her gaze on him, Evin turned to gaze at her with his bright blue eyes. She saw his lips quirk into his roguish smile, and then he shook his head at her. 

_You should have stayed behind_, she saw him mouth to her.

Her gaze narrowed and she glared at him, shaking her head. 

She saw him sigh.

She turned back to Torhte, who had just finished talking to Asianna. "Lady Knight?" he called.

"Yes." Alanna answered coldly.

"We have some terms for you. We will release some of you to go back to your king to report them. And then…"

Thorn's attention was pulled from Torhte's words to her staff.

::Well?:: it demanded.

::…Well, what?::

The leaves on the rose stem shook themselves at her. ::Aren't you going to do something?::

::Do something?:: she said in disbelief. ::Something like what?::

::Use your gift. You have it for a reason, you know.::

She stared at her staff, perplexed. ::You want me to grow some flowers and make the scenery prettier? Perhaps give us a nice background to look at before we die?::

The leaves shook at her again, harder this time. A captive rider who had been sitting nearest to her saw the movement and frowned. 

::How is my gift going to help this situation? I can only grow plants. I can't move objects like those arrows! Moving things through the air is not within my power!:: she protested.

::Think of something. Like that rose wall that you used to hold back the nobles while you ran.::

::Even if I used the rose wall now, there would still be enough time for the mage to set those arrows free. They'll hurt somebody.::

::I didn't say to _use _the idea. I said to think of one like it. Come on, Thorn. Use your brain! Think seriously!::

::I am!:: she protested. ::My gift just isn't effective in this type of situation!::

She was able to feel the staff's frustration. Or perhaps it was just her own. There was just no way that Thorn could use her gift offensively while at the same time, keep the arrows from hurting anyone…was there? They were floating arrows, for gods-sake! What was it like, she wondered briefly, to have the power to force arrows to move around as you liked? Poor mage, she glanced at Taj, the bandits' mage. He's nothing but a weapon. 

_What are we going to do…_

****

A.N.: I went to the bookstore the other day and was able to skim through the ending of Lady Knight. Yes *sigh* I am the type of person who likes to cheat and figure out the ending before I get there. And I sigh how Evin was promoted by Buri. So just in case there were any questions, I'll say this right now: this story does not take place after Lady Knight. If anything, it takes place a four/five years after The Realm of the Gods. I mean, how old is Evin at the end of Lady Knight?

~Krizsta


	23. The Arrows

****

23. The Arrows 

"Don't you think that's asking for a little too much?" Alanna asked Torhte dubiously.

"Considering that the lives of those who are here hang in the balance, no, I don't." Torhte said complacently.

Thorn hadn't been really paying attention to Torhte's demands, but she did know that it was about increasing Torhte's wealth. Gold, diamonds, the works. No, one couldn't say that Torhte was a very original bandit.

"I have a question to ask you." Alanna said after a moment.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"The day back at the village, where you were trying to sell Thorn," her purple eyes turned to gaze at her for a moment, "those arrows that seemingly fell from the forest…they came from your mage, didn't they?"

Asianna and Torhte exchanged sly glances. "Yes, they did. Our mage controlled them, released them at the right moment to send them flying into the village so that we could escape." Torhte seemed to be purring again.

But there were something about his words that disturbed Thorn. Those arrows, those wooden--

_Wooden_.

The arrows were wooden. 

__

::Well, of course they are. What did you think they were made out of? String?:: her staff questioned.

::But things that are wooden, from plants…they respond to me!:: she exclaimed excitedly, for the moment ignoring her staff's sarcasm.

::Of course they do, Thorn.:: her staff replied patiently.

And then, from a memory that seemed so far away, she heard:

__

Every time Thorn asks a plant to do something that is unnatural, she has to offer the plant some of her own…energy so that it could fulfill her request…when she wants a plant to move unnaturally, like bending over or turning a certain way, she has to offer much more energy since movement like that is not natural to the way a plant grows and is…

::That's it!:: All she had to do was…somehow ask the arrows to bend in such a way to make them harmless. 

::Of course it is.::

She stared at her staff. ::What is that supposed to mean?:: she demanded. She paused. ::You mean, you already had the idea yourself?:: She didn't give her staff the chance to reply. ::Why didn't you tell me this before?:: 

Her staff sighed. ::You have to think of it yourself. I'm not going to be around forever, you know. I won't always be there to help you. You must learn to be more independent.::

::But mother gave you to me so that you could protect me!:: she protested.

::That doesn't mean I'll be around forever…:: Her staff refused to say anymore.

This time she was the one who sighed. ::All right then. Pretend to ignore me.:: She instead focused on the arrow in front of her. 

She reached out to it with her mind. ::…Hello?::

Silence.

::Hello?:: she tried again. ::Arrow?::

Silence.

She tried repeatedly; she failed repeatedly.

_It's not working_. She realized. The wood of the arrow is_ dead_. She couldn't communicate with dead plants, plants that were not attached to the ground.

But what about her staff? It wasn't attached to the ground, and yet, it was still alive.

She clenched her fists and tried it again. But this time, she first reached into herself and pulled out some of that…energy stuff that her staff had referred to. And she offered her energy to the arrow. 

And the arrow awakened.

She felt it quiver to her response, immediately alert and curious. If the situation hadn't been so dire at the moment, she would have laughed aloud at her success.

She felt a sense of approval radiate from her staff, which only added on to her excitement.

She quickly reached into herself again, pulling out her precious energy and then offering it to the rest of the floating arrows. And then some more to the arrows which lay in piles.

::You shouldn't use so much at once!:: her staff immediately scolded her. ::The arrows aren't the only ones that need that energy! Your body needs it too!::

::I'm fine.:: she immediately scoffed at the staff's concern. But she felt it. The ache of tiredness settling itself onto her bones. 

_No. Stay awake._ She dug her fingers into her palms, feeling her own nails pressing painfully into her skin.

She glanced around, noting that none of the bandits realized that anything was amiss. All the arrows were now alive and ready for her. But were the knights and Riders?

She glanced toward them, hoping to somehow catch Alanna's gaze, but only finding Evin's. They stared at each other: she, already exhausted, and he, eager for justice. Then he suddenly nodded.

_I hope that was a signal that he understood me_. But there wasn't anymore time to worry about that. Torhte had already started to pick several men whom he would let return to the king so that the king would know about his ransom. Now was the perfect time.

::_Curl!:: _She somehow felt her mental voice reverberate through the clearing.

And the arrows started to curl. 

::Into harmless little balls, with your points hidden in the center. Curl.:: And as she spoke, she fed the arrows more of her energy, giving them the strength to do as she asked.

Asianna was the first to realize what was going on. "Thorn! No!" Her voice was filled with anger. 

The arrows started darting around the clearing, but it was too late. They weren't able to pierce anyone. But at the speed in which the arrow-balls were moving, it still hurt to have one crash into you. 

Thorn herself was knocked to the ground, wheezing for breath, when the arrow that had stood in front of her hurtled into her chest.

And for some reason, most of the arrow-balls seemed to be racing toward her. 

::Get up! Get up!:: her staff urged her anxiously.

But she was too tired. So she just sat, wrapped up in her own little ball, arms covering her face, and tried to ignore the pain that increased with each arrow-ball. 

::As soon as you touch the ground,:: she told the arrows, ::catch hold and grow roots.:: And so she continued to feed them more of her energy. 

There were sounds of metal clashing, armor denting, men who were struck down one by one.

But after awhile, she realized that she was no longer getting bombarded by balls, and so she lifted her head and glanced around. About two dozen little saplings grew around her in a tight circle where the arrow-balls had landed. She glanced at the little saplings fondly, for they had in their own strange way, protected her bent form.

She pushed herself up to her feet, almost falling over on top of the saplings, but catching herself at the last moment with her staff.

::You shouldn't have wasted so much energy!:: her staff rebuked. 

::I didn't waste any energy.:: she said dazedly. ::Look::

The bandits were outnumbered and steadily losing the battle against Tortall's own. 

_Good thing all the bandits are busy fighting for their own life. Elsewise, they would have probably turned on me and mashed her into pulp with their anger,_ she thought absentmindedly to herself.

"Thorn!" One of the Riders seemed to pull himself away from the battle and come toward her.

She was immediately pulled into Evin's arms. "Gods. Are you all right? I would have come sooner, but these bandits really know how to struggle when they're upset."

Was he the one trembling? Or was it her?

"I'm fine." She murmured.

"Thorn?" The alarm in Evin's voice made her jerk up-right. She suddenly realized that she had somehow closed her eyes without realizing, and had been leaning against Evin's body. "What's wrong with you?" 

Thorn kept her eyes open, but was too tired to glance up. "Nothing. Good. Fine. I'm fine."

Over Evin's shoulder, she suddenly saw a familiar shadow move within the edge of the clearing by the trees. And as she watched, the person snuck deeper into the forest, one exhausted hand on her back, and the other on her rounded stomach. 

****

A.N.- I have good news! I have just finished writing this fic (it goes until chapter 26), and as a result, I will be able to post a chapter daily again. I know for some people that the updating once every other day was a total drag, and so now I'm going back to updating daily for the last couple chapters that are left. I hope everyone's happy. :)

~Krizsta


	24. The Confrontation

Author: let Asianna escape? NEVER! Read on…

****

24. The Confrontation

"No." Thorn found herself pushing herself away from Evin and stepping exhaustedly away from the ring of saplings that had continued to grow around her. 

"Thorn?" Evin slipped his arm around her waist when he realized that she was staggering around like a drunk. "Where are you going?"

She leaned against Evin, still fighting to keep her eyes from closing. "Look." she pointed with her staff to the edge of the forest.

Evin glanced at where she was pointing. She knew the exact moment he spotted the figure, because his whole body went tense. "Your sister." He glanced at Thorn. "She isn't going to escape us again. You stay here and--"

"Evin." She gave him a look that told him how pointless it was to try to convince her to stay behind again.

He sighed, but didn't protest again. "Come on."

It was a good thing that Asianna was pregnant. Elsewise, they would have never caught up with her. Thorn's limbs just refused to move as fast as she wanted them to.

Asianna heard them coming and turned around. When she saw the exhausted Thorn who was barely able to stay on her feet, she laughed. 

"How pathetic." Asianna smiled. "And to think. I actually expected you to rescue me from the bandits."

"Asianna…" Thorn just shook her head. She used her staff to help keep her balance and then pushed Evin away. "I'll be fine." she murmured to him.

He glanced down at her anxiously, clearly wanting to disagree, but stayed his protests. Instead, he pulled his sword and stepped closer to Asianna, so although he was not right in front of Thorn, he was still in a position where he could protect her if necessary. 

Asianna raised an eyebrow. "You would dare to attack a pregnant woman?"

"At the moment," Evin said in a low, angry growl, "anything is possible."

Asianna's eyes widened slightly as she realized what he said was true. She then reached for her belt and pulled out her own sword. But she did not raise it in attack. She instead turned to glance at Thorn, and then back at Evin.

"She means that much to you?" Asianna asked in a curious tone.

"I will not let you hurt her. Verbally or otherwise." Evin answered.

"Asianna please." Thorn stumbled away from behind Evin. "Please, just give in. You can still live a better--"

Asianna interrupted Thorn with bitter laughter. "What do you think I am, sister? A fool? I can't live a better life now! It's over!." Asianna declared angrily. "I knew you were going to try to stop me from escaping." Her eyes suddenly grew sly. "And that's why I brought this." 

Asianna suddenly raised her free hand, but Thorn had expected that something like this was coming. "Evin! Watch out for her arrows!" 

Her warning was just in time. Evin ducked away from the flying arrow, and as soon as the arrow had embedded itself in a tree trunk, Thorn commanded it to grow. The arrow was rendered useless as it suddenly grew with life.

Asianna turned on Thorn, absolutely furious. "You ruined my surprise." she said flatly.

Thorn gazed at Asianna in surprise. She had never seen such a hateful look on her face before, not even when Asianna had been explaining why she hated Thorn. 

"How did you know?"

Thorn's throat was dry; she had to swallow before she could speak. "Taj never had enough powers to do what was back at the clearing. And I realized that the only thing that hovered in the air was wooden arrows. No metal swords, not metal knives. Only wooden arrows."

"That doesn't automatically make me the source of the power." Asianna said.

Thorn gave Asianna a sad smile. "Did you ever wonder why our father called our mother a witch?"

Asianna didn't reply. 

"Mother loved us very much. And whenever father wasn't home, she tried to make our lives as wonderful and fun as possible."

"Does this story have a point?" Asianna asked pointedly.

"Do you remember the cart rides, Asianna?"

"Cart rides?" she frowned.

"When father wasn't home, mother would lift us up and put us on the wooden cart we had, the wooden cart we used to carry fruits and vegetables into the village…"

Asianna's eyes flashed with recognition.

"And then she would command the cart to fly through the air. It was the greatest of fun, riding on a floating cart. And she made us promise to never tell anyone of what we did when we were alone. We, of course, obeyed, because we loved our cart rides." Thorn said softly. "Mother had the power to command movement into wooden objects. Or actually, any object that descended from a plant. And she also had the power to grow and talk to them…"

"Of course it had to be you." Thorn finished in a quiet tone.

Asianna's eyes narrowed. Then she let out a furious, animal-like roar and jumped at Thorn, her sword raised.

"Thorn!" Evin cried out.

Thorn quickly raised her staff into a block. She felt the air swish as the sword came dangerously close. 

The top half of the staff fell off and rolled on the floor toward Asianna.

Thorn stared, mouth open, at the broken half of her staff. 

Asianna suddenly laughed. "You are such a fool, Thorn. The look on your face is priceless. One would have thought that I had cut your own arm off."

"Mother gave me that staff…" Thorn said. 

Asianna's laugh turned bitter. "You always were everyone's favorite." 

Evin came toward her. "Thorn, let go of the other half of the staff. Thorn, let go." 

Thorn glanced at Evin in surprise. "What?"

"Thorn, please." He whispered worriedly. "Look."

Thorn glanced down at her hands. And saw that where her hands were still gripping her staff, there was blood. With a cry of surprise, she suddenly released the remaining half of the staff and glanced at her open hands.

"It pierced me?" She said aloud in disbelief. But she had to believe, because she was now able to feel the pain the thorns had caused her. "But…"

Evin ripped two pieces of cloth off his shirt and proceeded to wrap them around her injured palms. She winced.

::Staff?:: she called. ::Staff?::

But there was no answer. 

She glanced up at Asianna. "You killed my staff."

Asianna looked at Thorn as if she were a lunatic. "Your staff was never alive in the first place." She started to step away from Thorn. "Well, I'm going to go now, if you don't mind."

"No." Thorn said in reply. "You can't. Because I do mind." she said angrily.

Asianna's eyes flashed angrily. "You're right. You've ruined my life. And I can't leave until I ruin yours." She suddenly produced a small knife from somewhere. It hovered above her hand expectantly. "Here's one for your lover."

"No!" The wooden handle. Asianna was still able to control the knife through the wooden handle. 

Thorn immediately reached into herself, trying to scramble the energy to somehow stop it. She threw out the last handful of energy she was able to find…and then blacked out.

****

A.N. a little short, yes? But don't worry, the next chapter will be longer. 

~Krizsta


	25. The Dead

Disappointed about the staff? Well don't be. Cuz it's back…

****

25. The Dead

Thorn was floating in a wooden cart. "Where am I?" she said groggily.

"Delora?" 

Thorn started, glancing down over the edge of the cart.

A beautiful brown haired woman was frowning up at her. "What are you doing here, Delora?"

"Mother?" Thorn blinked.

The woman moved her hand in a flickering motion, and the wooden cart floated to the ground. "Delora. What has happened?"

"Happened?" Thorn frowned. Then the memory of the confrontation in the woods flooded back. "Asianna. Sh-she tried to kill Evin with a wooden knife." she said. "And I tried to stop her."

The woman sighed. "And you've killed yourself while doing it."

Thorn's eyes widened. "Wh-what?"

"Delora, what did my staff tell you about using your energy?"

"It said that I needed the energy too."

"Exactly. If you use too much and have nothing left, your body has nothing to run on. And you die."

"So I'm…I'm dead?"

The woman shook her head. "Not for long." She reached for Thorn.

Thorn immediately scrambled back. The exhaustion she had felt from using her energy and the pain of the thorns that had dug into her hands were gone. And she didn't have any bruises from the arrow-balls that had hit her in the clearing. 

"But I don't want to go back!"

Her mother stared at her. Her eyes grew soft. "But you must, Delora. You shouldn't be dead yet. Not you. I was expecting someone else to be here." 

"Someone else?" Thorn questioned. "Who?"

Her mother shook her head. "You will find out soon enough. But right now, you have to go back."

Thorn shook her head. "But I don't want to. I want to stay here, wherever here is, and be with you."

Her mother smiled tenderly at her. "Delora, you can't. It isn't time for you to die. You still have a life to live. What about Evin?"

Evin? Evin…

"You love him. And if you stay here, you will never be able to make a life together. And what about all those new people you have met? Lady Alanna? George? Thom? Will you leave them all just to spend time with me?"

Thorn hesistated.

Her mother smiled. "I didn't think so. Don't worry, daughter. We will be together eventually. Just not right now."

Her mother reached out with a hand and caressed Thorn's forehead. Thorn suddenly felt incredibly sleepy.

"Mother?" she asked before you fully closed her eyes. "Who are you, that you should have such strange powers to pass on to your daughters?"

She could feel her mother smile with her eyes closed. _I was the daughter of a god. Now sleep, love. And I will continue my watch for your sister…_

~~~~~~~~~~~

A mouth was over hers, forcing her to take in air. But she took in so much, that she started choking and coughing.

When she was finally able to open her eyes, she found herself being held tightly to Evin's chest. Then he suddenly pushed her back, took her shoulders, and started shaking her. 

"Never ever do that again! Do you understand me! Never!" Evin's eyes were wide with anxiety and his hair fell messily over his brow. 

Thorn reached up and combed his hair back out of his eyes. He gently took her hand and pressed her knuckles to his lips. 

"The knife?" She questioned him.

"You slowed it down with your power somehow, and I was able to knock it out of the way."

She gave a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry, Evin. I didn't mean to frighten you." she said.

He sighed. "Apology accepted. But if you ever do something like that again…" He growled at her before leaning in for a kiss. Then he suddenly leaned back and pulled her hand back toward him.

"Thorn…your hands."

She frowned. "My hands?" 

The pieces of cloth that Evin had wrapped around her hands had slipped off. And they were able to see what laid underneath. Absolutely nothing. The blood, the piercings, the pain. They were all gone. As a matter of fact, her body was completely pain-free. She felt as refreshed after she would have after a full night's rest. 

Thorn smiled. _Thank you, mother…_

"No! Stop it! Get off of me!"

Evin and Thorn both started as Asianna started screaming. 

Evin helped Thorn to her feet and they both turned Asianna. And stared.

The rose stem from Thorn's broken staff had somehow pulled itself off the staff…and was now winding itself around Asianna's legs. Asianna screamed and cursed, trying to pull the stem off, but it stayed firm, steadily entwining itself completely around her legs. 

"Well, at least the thorns aren't digging into your skin." Thorn said aloud.

Asianna glanced up and gave Thorn a pleading look. "Stop this. Please."

"I'm not the one doing it." Thorn said uncertainly. "The stem is doing it by itself."

Asianna continued to futilely fight against the rose stem. And Thorn remembered her mother's last words to her: _And I will continue my watch for your sister…_

"Asianna…it's too late now." Thorn said as she realized what her mother had meant. She felt a lump form in her throat. 

"Please, help me." Asianna started to cry. The rose stems continued to grow over her knees and was now spreading upward from mid-thigh. And not only that, but the two halves of her staff had somehow straightened themselves and were now growing into lean saplings on either side of Asianna, squishing her in the middle. 

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Thorn. I really didn't. But Torhte-- he said that if I didn't obey his orders he would kill me!" She sobbed. "And he said if I tried to help you, he would kill us both. I didn't want us to die." 

Thorn shook her head helplessly. "I can't. I can't do anything. I'm sorry…"

"Please. Delora, please."

Thorn jerked when she heard Asianna use her real name. The name that Torhte had forbidden her to use, because it was too … 'delicate' for her. And so he had made her Thorn. Prickly, sharp, piercing Thorn. The only person who ever used Delora now was her mother in her dreams, or in the last case, when Thorn was dead. But then, she couldn't imagine her mother calling her anything other than Delora, so that made sense. But hearing Asianna call her that, it was just strange…

"Please, Delora, don't kill me and my unborn baby." Asianna continued to plead. "I truly did not mean to hurt you."

Thorn hesistated. 

"Thorn." Evin grabbed her hand and jerked her toward him. "No, don't. Look."

She glanced at him, confused. In his hand, was a crystal. A strange looking little crystal that was glowing black.

Evin lifted the crystal and held it in front of her face. "This is my truth crystal. When a lie is told in its presence, it turns black." The crystal suddenly flashed, and the black slowly faded away to leave a bright white instead. "And when a truth is told, it glows white." Evin said. The crystal continued to shine the soft white color.

"No, no, no." Asianna said. The rose stem had now grown and curled past her waist. And where it covered her legs, it covered them completely. Thorn wasn't able to see a patch of skin anywhere the stem was. And the two saplings had grown to a height that was taller than Asianna. "He's lying! Don't trust his crystal!."

The crystal glowed black.

Thorn glanced uncertainly from her sister to Evin.

"I guess that's what it comes down to. Whether you trust me or not." Evin said. The sadness in his eyes made her heart ache.

Thorn reached up with a hand and caressed his cheek. "I do trust you. And I'm sorry for the way I acted when I saw you with Miri. I should have at least listened to your explanation."

Evin smiled at her, and the roguish smile that had so exasperated her in the past now made her smile back. He leaned down toward her and brushed his lips across her cheek. "Back at the moment when I was first captured and you were tying me with your vine, if someone had told me," he whispered in her ear, "that you were the woman that I would eventually fall in love with, I would have laughed my head off." His crystal flared and turned white. "But now, I don't find it that funny."

She smiled up at him. "That's good. Because if you had declared your love for me and then burst into mad laughter, I would have smacked you." she said with a mock growl. 

Evin laughed, but before he could reply, he was interrupted by Asianna's cry of outrage.

"Get this damn plant off of me! Bitch! Get your damn--"

"There's no need for you to scream." Evin said mildly. "We're right here in front of you."

"It's over, Asianna." There was still a little sadness audible in her voice. "You made your choice. And I have to make mine." Thorn said.

The rose stem had crept up her chest and was now dangerously close to her neck. Asianna's hands were also captured by the stem, and Thorn was able to see her shoulder heave with the effort of getting free. The trees that continued to grow beside Asianna was now twice as tall as Thorn. And so thick that she would have to use both arms to wrap around one of their trunks. And they continued to grow, squishing her in the middle. 

"No! No!" Asianna continued to scream, stopping only to gasp for breath.

And the stem continued to wrap around her neck, heading still upwards.

Then the trees that surrounded Asianna on either side suddenly _moved. _The trunks were suddenly contorting, stretching. And then they both worked together to wrap around the still screaming Asianna. They curled their trunks around each other, around Asianna, hiding her stem covered form. 

"No! No! N--" The screaming came to an abrupt stop. And the trees stopped wrapping around her, finished.

And there was utter silence.

"Is it done?" Evin asked hesitantly.

_No, it is not done yet, Rider._

Evin blinked. "What--who?"

"My staff…" Thorn murmured, staring at the entwined trees. 

_Yes, it is I. Your staff._

"And Asianna?" she asked.

_I have taken care of her. I am sorry for hurting you earlier with my thorns, but I needed you to drop me onto the ground. But that doesn't matter now; I see that your mother has taken care of your injuries._

"Yes." she said dazedly.

The trees suddenly rustled, and they slowly bent over, until their branches and boughs were just above Evin and Thorn's heads. 

And from somewhere within the lush, green leaves, there was the sound of crying.

Thorn blinked as the trees gently placed the baby in her arms. Asianna's baby. The baby suddenly stopped crying and blinked up at Thorn. She gurgled and waved her fists happily.

"Her baby. But--but how?" 

_The baby does not deserve the punishment of the mother. Take care of her, Thorn. _

Thorn stared down at the baby. "Take care of her?" she repeated in disbelief. "When I couldn't even take care of her mother?"

__

Take care of her like you would have taken care of Asianna, if only she had had enough faith in you to come and rescue her. You did not fail Asianna. She failed you.

Evin reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Your staff is right. You didn't fail Asianna. You tried."

"What about you, staff? What are you going to do?"

_I will stay here. I will remain, a marker of Asianna's grave._

"But--"

_Your mother told me to watch over you. And that's what I have done. But you don't need me anymore. You have the Rider now. You will be happy._

The trees straightened back. And then there was silence. 

Thorn turned to Evin. "Will you hold her for a moment?" she asked, holding out the baby.

He took her and she turned back to the entwined trees. She stepped close and placed her hand on one of their trunks. There were little cracks were the trees had entwined but left a little space between each other. And inside the space, a thorn or two was visible.

Thorn leaned close to one of the cracks. "Don't worry, Asianna. Mother will take care of you."

****

A.N. the story isn't over yet. One more chapter to go… 


	26. New Beginnings

Let's tie up all the loose ends…

****

26. New Beginnings 

"Well, that was quite a show."

Evin and Thorn jumped in surprise at the voice. She nearly dropped the baby, but Evin was able to catch her at the last moment.

Lady Alanna stepped out from behind a tree. And behind her stood several of knights and Riders.

"The bandits are trussed up and ready to get thrown into jail. We came here to help after we realized you two were gone. But I see now that you didn't need any."

Evin shook his head. "Actually, Thorn nearly died."

"Oh?" Alanna's gaze flickered with concern.

"Actually, Evin." Thorn said in a light tone. "I _did_ die."

Evin turned to her and raised his eyebrow. "Am I going to have to start shaking you again?"

She laughed. 

Alanna cleared her throat. "All right, just to make sure I'm not going crazy, was that your staff that was …talking earlier?"

"Yes, it was."

Alanna glanced at the baby in Thorn's arms. "And this is your sister's baby?"

"Yes."

"And your sister is dead?"

"Yes."

"Your staff…killed her?"

"Yes."

Alanna shook her head. "Maybe I will go crazy after all."

Evin laughed. "You can't be any crazier than you already are." 

Alanna chuckled. "Well, let's go back to camp. I've had enough excitement for one day."

~~~~~~

Evin and Thorn rode beside each other on the way back to Corus. 

"It's a good thing that I'm second-in-command and not just any Rider." Evin said with an after thought.

"Why's that?" Thorn asked, adjust her arms around the baby.

"Because. Riders are supposed to be single."

"You won't lose your job, will you?" She asked, concerned. Evin did love his job. 

"I told you. I'm too valuable for them to fire yet." Evin laughed. Then he grew sly. "Have you seen Miri and Brecc?"

She smiled. "Yes, I did. But I thought you just said that Riders are supposed to be single?"

Evin grinned. "Well, it's nothing concrete. They told me that they would go through the relationship slowly, one step at a time."

"I'm glad."

"What will you do once we get back to Corus?" he suddenly asked, looking serious.

Alanna had invited her to make a new life with the rest of them back at Corus. She had assured her that all of her criminal charges, if she had any, were now voided. She would be welcomed at Corus, Alanna had said. But…

"If you don't want to go live at Corus, we can always go somewhere else."

Thorn blinked. "You would leave your job?" she asked in surprise.

"There are always other jobs. But there isn't any other woman." Evin said with a shrug. "Sure, I would miss being a Rider, but I would understand why you don't want to stay at Corus." Evin smiled reassuringly at her. "Thorn, I don't want you to feel like you are being used as a weapon again. Ever. If that's what you're worried about, we can go elsewhere."

She sighed. "Am I that easy to read?"

Evin laughed. "Only to those who love you."

"I am afraid of that." she admitted. "But I realize now, that my view of what a weapon is is too cynical. In my view, knights and Riders are weapons. People to be used to fulfill the wants of the king, whether they're good or bad. But that's where my view is wrong. Knights and Riders. They do what they do because they like it. They're honored to serve the king. Look at you, you love being a Rider. And you aren't bitter about being a weapon. I think it's time for my view on weapons to change." She smiled at Evin. "Don't start looking for a new job yet. We're going to Corus."

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

She hesitated. "Completely? No. But as long as you're there, I'm sure I can handle it."

Evin nodded and gave her a mischievous look. "You're very lucky to have me around." He huffed out his shoulders and gave her his most haughty look.

She chuckled. "Arrogant pig."

"Snappish vixen."

"Conceited narcissist."

Evin gave her a wounded look, and then they both laughed.

He suddenly leaned over toward her, glancing down at the sleeping baby. They had only had her for a day and he already adored her.

"If you're not careful, Evin, I'm going to start thinking that you like me only for the baby." she teased.

Evin gave her a sly look. "Oh? Well, I'm going to have to work on that." He started to reach for her.

"Evin! Not here!" Thorn pulled away from him, embarrassed. 

Evin laughed when he saw her red cheeks. "So much for liking you only for the baby." 

She made a face and then held out the baby for him to hold.

"What will you name her?" he asked as he took the baby into his arms.

"Delora." She blinked. Where had that come from? She shook her head. _Well, perhaps this baby will have better luck with the name than I had._

Evin glanced up at her and smiled his wonderful smile. "Perfect."

And it was.

The End. 

****

A.N.- Wow, I cannot believe it. My fic is over. I actually finished it. Miracles do happen. Now I want every single one of you (yes, I'm talking specifically to you, person who reads but never reviews) to leave me a review now that I've finished the fic. (Hey, I can dream, can't I?)

Thank you everybody for reading this fic, and thanks to those who reviewed. Because of you and all your support, I was able to finish this fanfic. You made this possible. 

I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I have a new fic gradually forming in my mind. But I still need to work out a few kinks and reread several TP books to make sure I have the info correct. It will be completely different from this one, with a different setting, main characters, and etc.

Here's a little summary I was able to conjure up from what I have already formed in my mind (but none of it is concrete, it could change later, as I write it): 

__

Tortall and the rest of the continent has been disastrously into desert. People now live in tribes and wander throughout the endless desert. The gods are weakening and as less people believe in them, their power grows ever weaker. During one magic-filled night, the gods gather and put all their powers together to form: the Timeweaver. And the fate of the world will then rest on her shoulders and her ability to change the past…

Dramatic, wasn't it. *smile* tell me what you think and leave me a comment about the new fic when you review. 

Oh and if I do decide to write this fic, I'll still have to work out its problems and etc., so don't expect the first chapter of it to appear tomorrow. I will need time to make the fic more than a bunch of jumbled words.

Thanks again for reading.

~Krizsta


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